Is Acme United (ACU) 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. Acme United Corporation. (ACU) 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.

Acme United Corporation. is one of 261 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #11 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. Acme United Corporation. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACU's full-year earnings has moved 17.1% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that ACU has returned about 50.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have lost about 11.4% on average. As we can see, Acme United Corporation. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Consumer Discretionary stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is ASICS Corporation Unsponsored ADR (ASCCY). The stock has returned 9.5% year-to-date.

In ASICS Corporation Unsponsored ADR's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 6.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Acme United Corporation. is a member of the Consumer Products - Discretionary industry, which includes 29 individual companies and currently sits at #99 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 3.9% so far this year, so ACU is performing better in this area.

In contrast, ASICS Corporation Unsponsored ADR falls under the Leisure and Recreation Products industry. Currently, this industry has 24 stocks and is ranked #74. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -27.8%.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Acme United Corporation. and ASICS Corporation Unsponsored ADR. 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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