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Are Construction Stocks Lagging Eagle Materials (EXP) 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. Is Eagle Materials (EXP - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Construction sector should help us answer this question.

Eagle Materials is a member of our Construction group, which includes 98 different companies and currently sits at #1 in 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Eagle Materials is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EXP's full-year earnings has moved 0.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, EXP has moved about 26.7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Construction group have gained about 10.6% on average. This means that Eagle Materials is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Construction stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Toll Brothers (TOL - Free Report) . The stock has returned 17.4% year-to-date.

For Toll Brothers, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 13.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Eagle Materials belongs to the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry, a group that includes 9 individual companies and currently sits at #27 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 16.9% so far this year, so EXP is performing better in this area.

Toll Brothers, however, belongs to the Building Products - Home Builders industry. Currently, this 17-stock industry is ranked #36. The industry has moved +7.3% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Construction sector may want to keep a close eye on Eagle Materials and Toll Brothers as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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