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Is International Game Technology (IGT) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Discretionary Peers This Year?

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The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has International Game Technology (IGT - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

International Game Technology is one of 280 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #9 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. International Game Technology is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IGT's full-year earnings has moved 1.6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that IGT has returned about 12.4% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of 9.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that International Game Technology is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, Las Vegas Sands (LVS - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 16.8%.

In Las Vegas Sands' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 35.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, International Game Technology belongs to the Gaming industry, which includes 40 individual stocks and currently sits at #70 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 19.5% so far this year, meaning that IGT is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Las Vegas Sands is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to International Game Technology and Las Vegas Sands as they could maintain their solid performance.


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