Investors interested in Transportation stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. AerCap (AER) 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.

AerCap is one of 125 companies in the Transportation group. The Transportation group currently sits at #16 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. AerCap is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AER's full-year earnings has moved 2.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, AER has gained about 12.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Transportation group have lost about 11.8% on average. As we can see, AerCap is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Air France-KLM SA (AFLYY). The stock is up 9.9% year-to-date.

For Air France-KLM SA, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, AerCap belongs to the Transportation - Equipment and Leasing industry, a group that includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #192 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 4.8% so far this year, meaning that AER is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Air France-KLM SA falls under the Transportation - Airline industry. Currently, this industry has 29 stocks and is ranked #151. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -15.5%.

Investors with an interest in Transportation stocks should continue to track AerCap and Air France-KLM SA. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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Aercap Holdings N.V. (AER):Free Stock Analysis Report

Air France-KLM SA (AFLYY):Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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