The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Accel Entertainment (ACEL) one of those stocks right now? 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.
Accel Entertainment is one of 246 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 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 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. Accel Entertainment is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACEL's full-year earnings has moved 3.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
According to our latest data, ACEL has moved about 7.9% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have lost an average of 6.4%. This means that Accel Entertainment is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is H World Group (HTHT). The stock is up 10% year-to-date.
For H World Group, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Accel Entertainment belongs to the Gaming industry, a group that includes 38 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 17.5% so far this year, so ACEL is performing better in this area.
In contrast, H World Group falls under the Hotels and Motels industry. Currently, this industry has 13 stocks and is ranked #175. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +14%.
Accel Entertainment and H World Group could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).