The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. American Public Education (APEI) 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.
American Public Education is one of 261 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #10 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. American Public Education is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APEI's full-year earnings has moved 2.4% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that APEI has returned about 7.4% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have gained an average of 2.6%. As we can see, American Public Education is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. (MCFT), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 14.5%.
Over the past three months, MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, American Public Education is a member of the Schools industry, which includes 18 individual companies and currently sits at #102 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 2.1% this year, meaning that APEI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Products industry. This 24-stock industry is currently ranked #58. The industry has moved +6.1% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to American Public Education and MasterCraft Boat Holdings, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.
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American Public Education, Inc. (APEI): Free Stock Analysis Report MASTERCRAFT BOAT HOLDINGS, INC. (MCFT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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