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Are Consumer Discretionary Stocks Lagging H&R Block (HRB) This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has H&R Block (HRB - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

H&R Block is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 285 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #11. 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 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. H&R Block is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HRB's full-year earnings has moved 5.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, HRB has returned 65.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of -38.4% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that H&R Block is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Consumer Discretionary stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Swedish Match AB Unsponsored ADR . The stock has returned 28.3% year-to-date.

For Swedish Match AB Unsponsored ADR, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, H&R Block is a member of the Consumer Services - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #74 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 16.5% so far this year, so HRB is performing better in this area.

Swedish Match AB Unsponsored ADR, however, belongs to the Consumer Products - Discretionary industry. Currently, this 27-stock industry is ranked #208. The industry has moved -34% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to H&R Block and Swedish Match AB Unsponsored ADR as they could maintain their solid performance.


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