For those looking to find strong Construction stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Comfort Systems (FIX) been one of those stocks this year? 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.
Comfort Systems is a member of our Construction group, which includes 90 different companies and currently sits at #15 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. Comfort Systems is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FIX's full-year earnings has moved 19.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, FIX has moved about 76.9% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Construction stocks have gained an average of 10.1%. This shows that Comfort Systems is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Argan (AGX) is another Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 92.8%.
In Argan's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 12.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Comfort Systems belongs to the Building Products - Air Conditioner and Heating industry, which includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #97 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 30% so far this year, so FIX is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Argan falls under the Building Products - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 33 stocks and is ranked #171. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +1.6%.
Investors with an interest in Construction stocks should continue to track Comfort Systems and Argan. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Comfort Systems USA, Inc. (FIX): Free Stock Analysis Report
Argan, Inc. (AGX): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).