Are Consumer Discretionary Stocks Lagging MGM Resorts International (MGM) This Year?

MGM NCLH

Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is MGM Resorts (MGM - Free Report) 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.

MGM Resorts is one of 282 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #9 within 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 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. MGM Resorts is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MGM's full-year earnings has moved 232.5% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, MGM has returned 43.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of 14.2% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, MGM Resorts is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH - Free Report) is another Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 69.6%.

In Norwegian Cruise Line's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 6.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, MGM Resorts belongs to the Gaming industry, a group that includes 40 individual companies and currently sits at #76 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 37% this year, meaning that MGM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Norwegian Cruise Line belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Services industry. This 34-stock industry is currently ranked #103. The industry has moved +28.4% year to date.

MGM Resorts and Norwegian Cruise Line could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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