For those looking to find strong Construction stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Granite Construction (GVA) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Construction sector should help us answer this question.
Granite Construction is a member of the Construction sector. This group includes 88 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
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. Granite Construction is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GVA's full-year earnings has moved 2.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, GVA has moved about 26% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Construction sector has returned an average of 7.7% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Granite Construction is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another Construction stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Sterling Infrastructure (STRL). The stock has returned 73.9% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Sterling Infrastructure's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Granite Construction belongs to the Building Products - Heavy Construction industry, which includes 9 individual stocks and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 31.5% so far this year, meaning that GVA is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
Sterling Infrastructure, however, belongs to the Engineering - R and D Services industry. Currently, this 16-stock industry is ranked #104. The industry has moved +14.6% so far this year.
Granite Construction and Sterling Infrastructure could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Granite Construction Incorporated (GVA): Free Stock Analysis Report Sterling Infrastructure, Inc. (STRL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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