Is Laureate Education (LAUR) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Discretionary Peers This Year?

For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Laureate Education (LAUR) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Laureate Education is one of 259 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #12 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 proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Laureate Education is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LAUR's full-year earnings has moved 1.5% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, LAUR has returned 14.7% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of -11.7%. As we can see, Laureate Education is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Consumer Discretionary stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Newsmax (NMAX). The stock has returned 13.1% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Newsmax's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 71.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Laureate Education belongs to the Schools industry, which includes 19 individual stocks and currently sits at #179 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.1% so far this year, so LAUR is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Newsmax belongs to the Broadcast Radio and Television industry. This 16-stock industry is currently ranked #82. The industry has moved -21.4% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Laureate Education and Newsmax. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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