Is Acuity Brands (AYI) Stock Outpacing Its Construction Peers This Year?
The Construction group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Acuity Brands (AYI) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Acuity Brands is a member of the Construction sector. This group includes 103 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Acuity Brands is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AYI's full-year earnings has moved 5.1% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the most recent data, AYI has returned 2.4% so far this year. At the same time, Construction stocks have lost an average of 0.5%. This means that Acuity Brands is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Quanta Services (PWR) is another Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 1.3%.
In Quanta Services' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 13.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Acuity Brands belongs to the Building Products - Lighting industry, a group that includes 4 individual stocks and currently sits at #27 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 2.3% so far this year, meaning that AYI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Quanta Services, however, belongs to the Engineering - R and D Services industry. Currently, this 21-stock industry is ranked #196. The industry has moved +2.2% so far this year.
Acuity Brands and Quanta Services could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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