Has Ensign Group (ENSG) Outpaced Other Medical Stocks This Year?

ENSG GTBP

The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Ensign Group (ENSG - 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Medical sector should help us answer this question.

Ensign Group is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 1161 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. 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 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. Ensign Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ENSG's full-year earnings has moved 1.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ENSG has returned about 0.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have lost about 8.5% on average. This means that Ensign Group is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Medical sector, GT Biopharma, Inc. (GTBP - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 2%.

Over the past three months, GT Biopharma, Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Ensign Group belongs to the Medical - Nursing Homes industry, a group that includes 3 individual stocks and currently sits at #41 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 5.7% so far this year, so ENSG is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

In contrast, GT Biopharma, Inc. falls under the Medical - Biomedical and Genetics industry. Currently, this industry has 540 stocks and is ranked #153. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -15.7%.

Ensign Group and GT Biopharma, Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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