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Is Hitachi (HTHIY) Outperforming Other Conglomerates Stocks This Year?

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The Conglomerates group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Hitachi Ltd. (HTHIY - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Hitachi Ltd. is one of 15 companies in the Conglomerates group. The Conglomerates group currently sits at #1 within 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 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. Hitachi Ltd. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HTHIY's full-year earnings has moved 2.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that HTHIY has returned about 11.4% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Conglomerates companies have returned an average of 1.2%. This means that Hitachi Ltd. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Swire Pacific (SWRAY - Free Report) is another Conglomerates stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 19.5%.

In Swire Pacific's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 4.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Hitachi Ltd. belongs to the Diversified Operations industry, which includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.2% this year, meaning that HTHIY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Swire Pacific is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Conglomerates stocks should continue to pay close attention to Hitachi Ltd. and Swire Pacific as they could maintain their solid performance.

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