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Has Gildan Activewear (GIL) Outpaced Other Consumer Discretionary Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Gildan Activewear (GIL - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Gildan Activewear is one of 261 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #10 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 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. Gildan Activewear is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GIL's full-year earnings has moved 18.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that GIL has returned about 2.8% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of 2.5%. This means that Gildan Activewear is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Acushnet (GOLF - Free Report) . The stock is up 5.9% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Acushnet's current year EPS has increased 3.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Gildan Activewear is a member of the Textile - Apparel industry, which includes 22 individual companies and currently sits at #79 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 14.2% so far this year, so GIL is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Acushnet falls under the Leisure and Recreation Products industry. Currently, this industry has 24 stocks and is ranked #110. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +0.4%.

Gildan Activewear and Acushnet could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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