“You’ve only got to remember one thing…you always want to be with whatever the predominant trend is.” – Paul Tudor Jones

One of the great investors of our time, Paul Tudor Jones understood that in order to thrive in the market, he must remain modest and understand that the market is the horse. As an investor, he is simply the chariot following the horse.

It’s a lesson in humility – no matter how good someone is, if they want to survive in the market over an extended period of time, they’d better understand that they need to follow the general trend of a stock instead of fighting it.

Yet most investors have been doing the exact opposite for the past several months. As most equities have been falling, investors have been buying their favorite stocks at ‘discounted’ prices, only to see them continue to fall. They’ve been averaging down only to see their portfolio values steadily decline. It might work well in good times, but when the bears come calling this strategy gets exposed.

A much more prudent approach during volatile times is to find stocks that are outperforming the market. Locate companies that have established their own positive trends and are bucking the overall direction of the major indices. These stocks are outperforming for a reason.

We’ve identified two well-established healthcare companies that have weathered the recent volatility and are both trading right near their respective 52-week highs. While many stocks are in bear market territory, these stocks continue to outpace their peers.

Both companies are components of the Zacks Medical-Hospital industry group, which currently ranks in the top 22% out of approximately 250 different industry groups. Because it is ranked in the top half of all Zacks Ranked Industries, we expect this group to outperform the market over the next 3 to 6 months.

Quantitative research studies have shown that roughly half of a stock’s future price appreciation can be attributed to its industry group. In fact, according to our proprietary study, the top 50% of Zacks Ranked Industries outperforms the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1. By investing in stocks contained within the top industry groups, we can provide a constant ‘tailwind’ to our investing success.

Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC Quick QuoteTHC - Free Report)

Tenet Healthcare functions as a diversified healthcare company. THC owns and operates general hospitals and related healthcare facilities across the U.S. that provide acute care services, operating and recovery rooms, radiology and respiratory therapy, and pharmacies. The company operates 60 hospitals and approximately 550 related healthcare facilities including urgent care, imaging centers and surgery locations. Tenet Healthcare was incorporated in 1975 and is based in Dallas, TX.

THC has beaten earnings estimates in each of the past eight quarters. The healthcare provider most recently reported Q4 EPS results earlier this month of $2.70, a +73.08% surprise over the $1.56 consensus. Over the past four quarters, THC has delivered a +66.01% average earnings surprise, helping push the stock nearly 70% higher in the past year.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

HCA is scheduled to report Q1 earnings on April 28^th. Make sure to keep an eye on these two healthcare companies that are outperforming the market.