For those looking to find strong Transportation stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Knot Offshore (KNOP) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Transportation peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Knot Offshore is one of 131 companies in the Transportation group. The Transportation group currently sits at #16 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 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. Knot Offshore is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KNOP's full-year earnings has moved 6% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, KNOP has gained about 9.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Transportation group have gained about 1.1% on average. This means that Knot Offshore is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Viking Holdings (VIK) is another Transportation stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 10.1%.

The consensus estimate for Viking Holdings' current year EPS has increased 10.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Knot Offshore belongs to the Transportation - Shipping industry, which includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #249 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 12.4% this year, meaning that KNOP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Viking Holdings, however, belongs to the Transportation - Truck industry. Currently, this 13-stock industry is ranked #236. The industry has moved -18.6% so far this year.

Knot Offshore and Viking Holdings could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Transportation stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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