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Are Construction Stocks Lagging CRH (CRH) This Year?

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Investors interested in Construction stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. CRH (CRH - 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? 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.

CRH 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. CRH is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRH's full-year earnings has moved 6.6% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that CRH has returned about 14.5% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Construction companies have returned an average of 6.1%. As we can see, CRH is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Construction sector, Advanced Drainage Systems (WMS - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 14.4%.

In Advanced Drainage Systems' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 6.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, CRH belongs to the Building Products - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 28 individual companies and currently sits at #16 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 9.1% this year, meaning that CRH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Advanced Drainage Systems is also part of the same industry.

CRH and Advanced Drainage Systems could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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