For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Las Vegas Sands (LVS) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Las Vegas Sands is one of 264 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #10 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Las Vegas Sands is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LVS' full-year earnings has moved 4.1% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
According to our latest data, LVS has moved about 10.8% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of 8.3%. This means that Las Vegas Sands is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Vasta Platform Limited (VSTA). The stock is up 149% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Vasta Platform Limited's current year EPS has increased 16.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Las Vegas Sands belongs to the Gaming industry, a group that includes 40 individual stocks and currently sits at #72 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 20.2% this year, meaning that LVS is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Vasta Platform Limited falls under the Schools industry. Currently, this industry has 19 stocks and is ranked #150. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +15.7%.
Investors interested in the Consumer Discretionary sector may want to keep a close eye on Las Vegas Sands and Vasta Platform Limited as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Las Vegas Sands Corp. (LVS): Free Stock Analysis Report Vasta Platform Limited (VSTA): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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