Investors interested in Construction stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Quanex Building Products (NX) 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 Construction peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Quanex Building Products is a member of the Construction sector. This group includes 92 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
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. Quanex Building Products is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NX's full-year earnings has moved 8.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the most recent data, NX has returned 49.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Construction sector has returned an average of 3.4% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Quanex Building Products is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Construction sector, United Rentals (URI), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 24.8%.
Over the past three months, United Rentals' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Quanex Building Products belongs to the Building Products - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 34 individual stocks and currently sits at #153 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 2.1% so far this year, so NX is performing better in this area. United Rentals is also part of the same industry.
Quanex Building Products and United Rentals could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge Gains
Quantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.
While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.
Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power .
Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.
See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Quanex Building Products Corporation (NX): Free Stock Analysis Report
United Rentals, Inc. (URI): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).