Transportation Stocks, Including Golar LNG Limited, Making Big Moves on November 1, 2012

The market is having a good day so far: the Nasdaq is up 1.3%; the S&P 500 has risen 1%; and the Dow has climbed 1.2%. The transportation sector is a category of stocks relating to the transportation of goods or customers. It is made up of airlines, railroads and trucking companies. The performance of the transportation sector is sensitive to the price of oil. Because operations revolve around the use of vehicles, fuel prices represent a significant cost to transportation companies. As the price of oil rises, transportation companies will be expected to earn less. Inversely, these companies do well when the cost of fuel decreases.

The Transportation sector (IYT) is up 1%, underperforming the market overall. The biggest movers in the sector are currently:

Company	Market Cap	Percentage Change
Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (Nasdaq:AAWW)	$1.45 billion	-16.3%
Golar LNG Limited (Nasdaq:GLNG)	$3.12 billion	+7.9%
Macquarie Infrastructure (NYSE:MIC)	$1.94 billion	+6.9%
Con Way (NYSE:CNW)	$1.63 billion	-6.9%
Spirit Airlines (Nasdaq:SAVE)	$1.28 billion	-3.6%
Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX)	$1.23 billion	+3.4%
Hornbeck Offshore Services (NYSE:HOS)	$1.23 billion	+3.3%

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Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings (Nasdaq:AAWW) is at a share price of $46 after a sharp decline of 16.3%. The company's volume is currently 653,492 shares for the day, 5.2 times the average daily volume.

After rising 7.9%, Golar LNG Limited (Nasdaq:GLNG) is currently trading at a share price of $41.99. So far today, the company's volume is 626,287 shares.

Macquarie Infrastructure (NYSE:MIC) has increased to a share price of $44.58, a 6.9% rise. With 417,087 shares changing hands so far today, the company's volume is 2.6 times its average over the past three months.

Con Way (NYSE:CNW) is currently trading at a share price of $27.10, a 6.9% decline. The company's volume is currently 1.3 million shares.

After a decline of 3.6%, Spirit Airlines (Nasdaq:SAVE) has hit a share price of $17.04. At 137,260 shares, the company's volume so far today is 0.3 times its current daily average.

Alexander & Baldwin (NYSE:ALEX) has moved up 3.4% and is currently trading at $29.90 per share. So far today, 100,607 shares have changed hands.

Hornbeck Offshore Services (NYSE:HOS) is at $35.80 per share after an increase of 3.3%. The company's volume is currently 768,881 shares for the day, two times the current three-month average.

The Bottom Line No matter the economic climate, Wall Street will always have stocks that make major moves each week. Paying close attention to the previous ratios will help you identify key times to adjust your strategy. Keep in mind that all these ratios should be compared against historical numbers and industry information in order to get a more complete picture.