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Are Transportation Stocks Lagging United Airlines (UAL) This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Transportation stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. United Airlines (UAL - 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Transportation sector should help us answer this question.

United Airlines is one of 135 companies in the Transportation group. The Transportation group currently sits at #11 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. United Airlines is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UAL's full-year earnings has moved 6.2% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that UAL has returned about 134.7% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Transportation companies have returned an average of 5.7%. As we can see, United Airlines is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies (WAB - Free Report) . The stock is up 58.1% year-to-date.

For Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, United Airlines belongs to the Transportation - Airline industry, a group that includes 31 individual stocks and currently sits at #26 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 36.9% so far this year, so UAL is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies belongs to the Transportation - Equipment and Leasing industry. This 9-stock industry is currently ranked #35. The industry has moved +50.3% year to date.

United Airlines and Westinghouse Air Brake Technologies could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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