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Is Ralph Lauren (RL) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Discretionary Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Ralph Lauren (RL - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Ralph Lauren is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 260 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Ralph Lauren is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for RL's full-year earnings has moved 4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, RL has moved about 12.5% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of -7.4%. This means that Ralph Lauren is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, Acme United Corporation. (ACU - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 42.3%.

In Acme United Corporation.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 17.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Ralph Lauren is a member of the Textile - Apparel industry, which includes 22 individual companies and currently sits at #178 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 0.7% so far this year, so RL is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Acme United Corporation. belongs to the Consumer Products - Discretionary industry. This 28-stock industry is currently ranked #92. The industry has moved +15.6% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Ralph Lauren and Acme United Corporation.. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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