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Is North American Construction Group (NOA) Outperforming Other Construction Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Construction stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. North American Construction (NOA - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

North American Construction is one of 96 individual stocks in the Construction sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. North American Construction is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOA's full-year earnings has moved 12% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, NOA has moved about 44.3% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Construction sector has returned an average of 14% on a year-to-date basis. This means that North American Construction is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Construction sector, PulteGroup (PHM - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 44.5%.

In PulteGroup's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 23.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, North American Construction is a member of the Building Products - Heavy Construction industry, which includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #58 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 7.9% so far this year, so NOA is performing better in this area.

PulteGroup, however, belongs to the Building Products - Home Builders industry. Currently, this 19-stock industry is ranked #12. The industry has moved +29.3% so far this year.

North American Construction and PulteGroup could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM) - free report >>

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