For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Discretionary peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Grand Canyon Education is one of 265 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in 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 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. Grand Canyon Education is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LOPE's full-year earnings has moved 0.1% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Our latest available data shows that LOPE has returned about 3.2% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have gained an average of 3%. This means that Grand Canyon Education is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Interface (TILE) is another Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 6.8%.
In Interface's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 8.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Grand Canyon Education belongs to the Schools industry, which includes 19 individual stocks and currently sits at #86 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 1.9% this year, meaning that LOPE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Interface falls under the Textile - Home Furnishing industry. Currently, this industry has 4 stocks and is ranked #89. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -8.1%.
Grand Canyon Education and Interface could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (LOPE): Free Stock Analysis Report Interface, Inc. (TILE): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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