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Is Eagle Materials (EXP) Outperforming Other Construction Stocks This Year?

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The Construction group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Eagle Materials (EXP - 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Construction peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Eagle Materials is a member of our Construction group, which includes 96 different companies and currently sits at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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 4.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, EXP has moved about 26.8% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Construction companies have returned an average of 9.8%. This shows that Eagle Materials is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Toll Brothers (TOL - Free Report) is another Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 17.1%.

Over the past three months, Toll Brothers' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 12.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Eagle Materials belongs to the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry, a group that includes 9 individual stocks and currently sits at #45 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 17.6% so far this year, meaning that EXP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Toll Brothers falls under the Building Products - Home Builders industry. Currently, this industry has 17 stocks and is ranked #41. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +5.2%.

Going forward, investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to Eagle Materials and Toll Brothers as they could maintain their solid performance.


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