Has Vulcan Materials (VMC) Outpaced Other Construction Stocks This Year?
Investors interested in Construction stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Vulcan Materials (VMC) 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.
Vulcan Materials is a member of our Construction group, which includes 98 different companies and currently sits at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Vulcan Materials is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VMC's full-year earnings has moved 3.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the most recent data, VMC has returned 16.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Construction group have gained about 9.7% on average. This shows that Vulcan Materials is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Construction stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS). The stock has returned 14.1% year-to-date.
For Advanced Drainage Systems, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Vulcan Materials is a member of the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry, which includes 9 individual companies and currently sits at #23 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 16.6% this year, meaning that VMC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Advanced Drainage Systems belongs to the Building Products - Miscellaneous industry. This 29-stock industry is currently ranked #18. The industry has moved +12.3% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to Vulcan Materials and Advanced Drainage Systems as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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