Helped by solid batch of earnings from airlines not named United Continental (NYSE: UAL), the iShares Transportation Average ETF (NYSEArca: IYT) posted a modest April gain, finishing the month within striking distance of its all-time high.
Railroad and trucking earnings have also been helping IYT as Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP), Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU) and JB Hunt Transportation Services (NasdaqGS: JBHT), among others, posted solid quarterly results. Those stocks combine for nearly 26% of IYT’s weight. [Earnings Reports Lift Transportation ETFs]
Interestingly, a lack of recent volatility in IYT could be a sign the ETF is poised to pull back.
“IYT remains above the uptrend line and continues to set higher swing lows, but the volatility as of late does not inspire much confidence,” said Deron Wagner of Morpheus Trading Group. http://www.morpheustrading.com/
IYT does reside 2.3% above its 50-day moving average and a comfortable 9.4% above its 200-day line. The $857.5 million ETF is 1.6% below its all-time high, suggesting that if the fund can move above resistance at $140 on strong volume, a fresh leg high could be right around the corner.
However, IYT is richly valued relative to the broader market with a P/E ratio of 21.48 and a price-to-book ratio of 4.51, according to iShares data.
IYT’s biggest competitor, the SPDR S&P Transportation ETF (NYSEArca: XTN), is also flirting with new highs. XTN rests just 2.1% below its all-time high. XTN allocates a combined 61.5% of its weight to the trucking and airline industries.
XTN uses an equal weight methodology, resulting in no stock accounting for more than 2.91% of the ETF’s weight. The $120.5 million fund is light on railroad names compared to IYT as that industry accounts for 12.9% of XTN’s lineup. [Transportation ETFs Look Enticing]
XTN is up 0.73% in the past month and is 11.9% above its 200-day moving average.
iShares Transportation Average ETF
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.