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Are Consumer Discretionary Stocks Lagging Las Vegas Sands (LVS) 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 Las Vegas Sands (LVS - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Discretionary peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Las Vegas Sands is one of 276 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #10 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 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. Las Vegas Sands is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LVS' full-year earnings has moved 18.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that LVS has returned about 21.7% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have gained an average of 10.1%. This shows that Las Vegas Sands is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Royal Caribbean (RCL - Free Report) is another Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 84.5%.

In Royal Caribbean's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 43.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Las Vegas Sands is a member of the Gaming industry, which includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #61 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 27.6% this year, meaning that LVS is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Royal Caribbean belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Services industry. This 34-stock industry is currently ranked #70. The industry has moved +25.3% year to date.

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


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