For those looking to find strong Construction stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Cemex (CX) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Cemex is one of 93 companies in the Construction group. The Construction group currently sits at #16 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. Cemex is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CX's full-year earnings has moved 45.2% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, CX has gained about 12.4% so far this year. In comparison, Construction companies have returned an average of 9.5%. This shows that Cemex is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Construction sector, MasTec (MTZ), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 11.2%.
Over the past three months, MasTec's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Cemex belongs to the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry, a group that includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #184 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 26.9% so far this year, meaning that CX is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, MasTec falls under the Building Products - Heavy Construction industry. Currently, this industry has 9 stocks and is ranked #98. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +61.4%.
Investors interested in the Construction sector may want to keep a close eye on Cemex and MasTec as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Cemex S.A.B. de C.V. (CX): Free Stock Analysis Report MasTec, Inc. (MTZ): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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