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Is Argan (AGX) Stock Outpacing Its Construction Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Construction stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Argan (AGX - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Construction peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Argan is a member of the Construction sector. This group includes 92 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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 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. Argan is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGX's full-year earnings has moved 7.7% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that AGX has returned about 26.5% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Construction stocks have lost an average of 0.6%. This means that Argan is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Legence (LGN - Free Report) . The stock is up 24.4% year-to-date.

For Legence, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Argan belongs to the Building Products - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 34 individual companies and currently sits at #172 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 7.5% so far this year, meaning that AGX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Legence falls under the Engineering - R and D Services industry. Currently, this industry has 23 stocks and is ranked #103. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +15.4%.

Investors with an interest in Construction stocks should continue to track Argan and Legence. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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