Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. AMC Entertainment (AMC) 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.
AMC Entertainment is a member of our Consumer Discretionary group, which includes 260 different companies and currently sits at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. AMC Entertainment is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMC's full-year earnings has moved 13.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the most recent data, AMC has returned 11.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have lost about 9% on average. This means that AMC Entertainment is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Bassett Furniture (BSET). The stock is up 17.5% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Bassett Furniture's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, AMC Entertainment belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Services industry, a group that includes 28 individual stocks and currently sits at #197 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 6.3% so far this year, so AMC is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Bassett Furniture falls under the Furniture industry. Currently, this industry has 7 stocks and is ranked #28. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +6.1%.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to AMC Entertainment and Bassett Furniture as they could maintain their solid performance.
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AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (AMC): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).