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Is Cintas (CTAS) Outperforming 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. Cintas (CTAS - 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Discretionary peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Cintas is a member of our Consumer Discretionary group, which includes 261 different companies and currently sits at #13 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. Cintas is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CTAS' full-year earnings has moved 1.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, CTAS has moved about 5.5% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have lost about 12.3% on average. This means that Cintas is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is PIGEON CORP (PGENY - Free Report) . The stock is up 15.2% year-to-date.

In PIGEON CORP's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 8.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Cintas is a member of the Textile - Apparel industry, which includes 22 individual companies and currently sits at #178 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 10.4% so far this year, so CTAS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, PIGEON CORP falls under the Consumer Products - Discretionary industry. Currently, this industry has 29 stocks and is ranked #100. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +4.2%.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Cintas and PIGEON CORP. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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