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Is Acuity Brands (AYI) Stock Outpacing Its Construction Peers 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 Acuity Brands (AYI - 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.

Acuity Brands is one of 95 individual stocks in the Construction sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Acuity Brands is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AYI's full-year earnings has moved 5.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, AYI has gained about 24.2% so far this year. At the same time, Construction stocks have gained an average of 8.8%. This means that Acuity Brands is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Construction sector, The AZEK Company (AZEK - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 21.6%.

In The AZEK Company's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 24.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Acuity Brands belongs to the Building Products - Lighting industry, a group that includes 4 individual stocks and currently sits at #100 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 22.8% so far this year, so AYI is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

The AZEK Company, however, belongs to the Building Products - Air Conditioner and Heating industry. Currently, this 6-stock industry is ranked #18. The industry has moved +12.2% so far this year.

Acuity Brands and The AZEK Company could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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