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 Acme United Corporation. (ACU) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Acme United Corporation. is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 258 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Acme United Corporation. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACU's full-year earnings has moved 16.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, ACU has gained about 14.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of -6.6% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Acme United Corporation. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Carter's (CRI). The stock is up 8.1% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Carter's' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 37.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Acme United Corporation. belongs to the Consumer Products - Discretionary industry, which includes 28 individual stocks and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 5.1% so far this year, so ACU is performing better in this area.
On the other hand, Carter's belongs to the Shoes and Retail Apparel industry. This 8-stock industry is currently ranked #166. The industry has moved -13.4% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to Acme United Corporation. and Carter's as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Acme United Corporation. (ACU): Free Stock Analysis Report
Carter's, Inc. (CRI): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).