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Are Transportation Stocks Lagging Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK) This Year?

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The Transportation group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Star Bulk Carriers (SBLK - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Star Bulk Carriers is one of 110 companies in the Transportation group. The Transportation group currently sits at #1 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Star Bulk Carriers is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SBLK's full-year earnings has moved 13.2% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that SBLK has returned about 41.3% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Transportation sector has returned an average of 19.1% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Star Bulk Carriers is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Transportation stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Heartland Express (HTLD - Free Report) . The stock has returned 64.2% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Heartland Express' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 160%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Star Bulk Carriers belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry, a group that includes 28 individual companies and currently sits at #39 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 46.5% so far this year, so SBLK is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

Heartland Express, however, belongs to the Transportation - Truck industry. Currently, this 12-stock industry is ranked #6. The industry has moved +47.5% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Transportation sector may want to keep a close eye on Star Bulk Carriers and Heartland Express as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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