For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Acadia Healthcare (ACHC) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Medical peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Acadia Healthcare is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 917 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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. Acadia Healthcare is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACHC's full-year earnings has moved 3.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, ACHC has moved about 97.8% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 0.2% on average. This means that Acadia Healthcare is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Brookdale Senior Living (BKD) is another Medical stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 0.7%.
In Brookdale Senior Living's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 160% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Acadia Healthcare belongs to the Medical - Hospital industry, which includes 4 individual stocks and currently sits at #60 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 8.8% so far this year, so ACHC is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Brookdale Senior Living falls under the Medical - Nursing Homes industry. Currently, this industry has 2 stocks and is ranked #7. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -1.9%.
Investors interested in the Medical sector may want to keep a close eye on Acadia Healthcare and Brookdale Senior Living as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Acadia Healthcare Company, Inc. (ACHC): Free Stock Analysis Report
Brookdale Senior Living Inc. (BKD): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).