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Is American Woodmark (AMWD) Outperforming Other Consumer Discretionary Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is American Woodmark (AMWD - 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 Consumer Discretionary sector should help us answer this question.

American Woodmark is one of 286 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #15 within 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. American Woodmark is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMWD's full-year earnings has moved 1.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, AMWD has gained about 8.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have gained about 0.8% on average. This means that American Woodmark is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Central Garden (CENT - Free Report) . The stock is up 3% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Central Garden's current year EPS has increased 12.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, American Woodmark is a member of the Furniture industry, which includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #165 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 4.2% so far this year, so AMWD is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Central Garden falls under the Consumer Products - Discretionary industry. Currently, this industry has 24 stocks and is ranked #68. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +4%.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track American Woodmark and Central Garden. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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