For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Sony (SONY) 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 Consumer Discretionary sector should help us answer this question.
Sony is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 264 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Sony is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SONY's full-year earnings has moved 1.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the most recent data, SONY has returned 36.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have gained about 5.7% on average. As we can see, Sony is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Wolverine World Wide (WWW) is another Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 14.2%.
The consensus estimate for Wolverine World Wide's current year EPS has increased 26.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Sony belongs to the Audio Video Production industry, a group that includes 6 individual companies and currently sits at #176 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 33% so far this year, so SONY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Wolverine World Wide belongs to the Shoes and Retail Apparel industry. This 10-stock industry is currently ranked #65. The industry has moved -12.7% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to Sony and Wolverine World Wide as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Sony Corporation (SONY): Free Stock Analysis Report Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (WWW): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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