The Auto-Tires-Trucks group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Blue Bird (BLBD) 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 Auto-Tires-Trucks sector should help us answer this question.

Blue Bird is one of 102 companies in the Auto-Tires-Trucks group. The Auto-Tires-Trucks group currently sits at #9 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Blue Bird is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BLBD's full-year earnings has moved 31.8% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, BLBD has returned 70.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Auto-Tires-Trucks group have lost about 5.5% on average. This shows that Blue Bird is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Auto-Tires-Trucks stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is CarGurus (CARG). The stock is up 21.2% year-to-date.

In CarGurus' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 19.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Blue Bird belongs to the Automotive - Domestic industry, which includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #166 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 1.5% so far this year, so BLBD is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

CarGurus, however, belongs to the Automotive - Replacement Parts industry. Currently, this 6-stock industry is ranked #32. The industry has moved -6.6% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Auto-Tires-Trucks stocks should continue to track Blue Bird and CarGurus. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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