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Are Consumer Discretionary Stocks Lagging New Oriental Education & Technology Group (EDU) This Year?

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Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. New Oriental Education (EDU - 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 Consumer Discretionary sector should help us answer this question.

New Oriental Education is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 284 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #15. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. New Oriental Education is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EDU's full-year earnings has moved 45.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, EDU has returned 87.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have lost about 35.5% on average. This shows that New Oriental Education is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Manchester United (MANU - Free Report) . The stock is up 59.8% year-to-date.

For Manchester United, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 30.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, New Oriental Education belongs to the Schools industry, which includes 18 individual stocks and currently sits at #87 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12.1% this year, meaning that EDU is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Manchester United, however, belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Services industry. Currently, this 31-stock industry is ranked #141. The industry has moved -35.9% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Consumer Discretionary sector may want to keep a close eye on New Oriental Education and Manchester United as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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