Transportation Stocks To Post Q2 Earnings: CMRE, KSU, MRTN

The Q2 earnings season is in the nascent stage with 36 S&P 500 participants having reported results so far. The season, nevertheless, has started on a strong note, courtesy impressive results from big names like JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) . Investors are going to be super busy this week, with a number of earnings releases scheduled to come in from every possible corner.

It will be a busy week for the transportation sector (one of the of the 16 Zacks sectors) too, as many big names in the space like American Airlines Group (NASDAQ:AAL) are scheduled to report quarterly numbers. According to our latest Earnings Trends Report, 20% of the sector participants (S&P 500) have unveiled their numbers so far, all of them outshining the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings and recording a 5.7% growth rate. The bright picture was painted by solid reports from leading sector participants like Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) .

Interestingly, the transportation sector has been undergoing challenging times of late due to a number of global headwinds like the surge in terror attacks, declining coal shipments and the Brexit referendum. It, however, remains to be seen if the upward momentum will continue through the rest of the season.

Here, we have compiled a list of three players operating in the widely diversified transportation space that are expected to report quarterly numbers on Jul 19.

Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU) is slated to release second-quarter results before the market opens. This will kick off the earnings season in the railroad industry, which will see big players like Union Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) reporting later in the week.

In the first quarter of 2016, the Missouri-based railroad operator reported better-than-expected earnings.

However, last quarter’s bottom-line outperformance was largely the result of a conservative Zacks Consensus Estimate, as earnings estimates were slashed due to multiple headwinds, the primary one being coal. However, an earnings beat might be tough for the railroad operator this time around (read more: Kansas City Southern Q2 Earnings: What's in Store?).

Costamare Inc. (NYSE:CMRE) is expected to release second-quarter numbers on Jul 19. Things, however, appear bleak for the shipping company. According to our quantitative model, a company needs the right combination of two key ingredients – a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) or better – to increase its odds of an earnings surprise. However, Costamare has an Earnings ESP of -5.00% as the Most Accurate estimate is pegged at 38 cents while the Zacks Consensus Estimate is 2 cents higher. The company has a Zacks Rank # 5 (Strong Sell). As it is, we caution against Sell-rated stocks going into the earnings announcement.

Marten Transport, Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRTN) , a Mondovi, WI-based, long-haul truckload carrier, is expected to release second-quarter results on Jul 19. Our model does not indicate that the company is likely to beat earnings this quarter. This is because Marten Transport is a Zacks Rank # 4 (Sell) stock and has an Earnings ESP of 0.00%.