Is Nikola (NKLA) Stock Outpacing Its Auto-Tires-Trucks Peers This Year?

For those looking to find strong Auto-Tires-Trucks stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Nikola NKLA one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Nikola is a member of our Auto-Tires-Trucks group, which includes 110 different companies and currently sits at #10 in 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. Nikola is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NKLA's full-year earnings has moved 30.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, NKLA has moved about 3.9% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Auto-Tires-Trucks stocks have lost an average of 3.7%. This means that Nikola is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Oshkosh OSK is another Auto-Tires-Trucks stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 14%.

Over the past three months, Oshkosh's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Nikola belongs to the Automotive - Domestic industry, a group that includes 20 individual companies and currently sits at #57 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 19.4% so far this year, so NKLA is performing better in this area.

Oshkosh, however, belongs to the Automotive - Original Equipment industry. Currently, this 55-stock industry is ranked #140. The industry has moved +6% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Auto-Tires-Trucks sector may want to keep a close eye on Nikola and Oshkosh as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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