Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Laureate Education (LAUR) one of those stocks right now? 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.
Laureate Education is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 257 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 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. Laureate Education is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LAUR's full-year earnings has moved 8.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, LAUR has moved about 3.3% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have lost an average of 10.2%. This means that Laureate Education 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 Lifetime Brands (LCUT). The stock is up 24.8% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Lifetime Brands' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 35.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Laureate Education belongs to the Schools industry, a group that includes 18 individual companies and currently sits at #17 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 4% so far this year, meaning that LAUR is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
Lifetime Brands, however, belongs to the Consumer Products - Discretionary industry. Currently, this 28-stock industry is ranked #81. The industry has moved +10.8% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to Laureate Education and Lifetime Brands as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Laureate Education (LAUR): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).