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Are Consumer Discretionary Stocks Lagging Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) 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. Is Royal Caribbean (RCL - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Royal Caribbean is a member of our Consumer Discretionary group, which includes 280 different companies and currently sits at #8 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Royal Caribbean is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RCL's full-year earnings has moved 31.7% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, RCL has returned 101.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of 10.4% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Royal Caribbean is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Skechers (SKX - Free Report) . The stock is up 21.7% year-to-date.

For Skechers, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 7.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Royal Caribbean is a member of the Leisure and Recreation Services industry, which includes 34 individual companies and currently sits at #160 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 22.4% this year, meaning that RCL is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Skechers, however, belongs to the Shoes and Retail Apparel industry. Currently, this 12-stock industry is ranked #85. The industry has moved -5.9% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Royal Caribbean and Skechers. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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