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Is Altair Engineering (ALTR) Stock Outpacing Its Construction Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Construction stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Altair Engineering (ALTR - Free Report) 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.

Altair Engineering is a member of the Construction sector. This group includes 96 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Altair Engineering is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALTR's full-year earnings has moved 261.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, ALTR has gained about 55% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Construction sector has returned an average of 12.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Altair Engineering is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Construction stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Toll Brothers (TOL - Free Report) . The stock has returned 24.4% year-to-date.

For Toll Brothers, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Altair Engineering is a member of the Engineering - R and D Services industry, which includes 21 individual companies and currently sits at #61 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 9.7% so far this year, meaning that ALTR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Toll Brothers belongs to the Building Products - Home Builders industry. This 19-stock industry is currently ranked #108. The industry has moved +24.5% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to Altair Engineering and Toll Brothers as they could maintain their solid performance.


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