Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Construction Stocks Lagging Fluor (FLR) This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Construction group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Fluor (FLR - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Fluor is a member of the Construction sector. This group includes 92 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #14. 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 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. Fluor is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FLR's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that FLR has returned about 38.1% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Construction sector has returned an average of -0.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Fluor is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Owens Corning (OC - Free Report) is another Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 8.7%.

Over the past three months, Owens Corning's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Fluor belongs to the Engineering - R and D Services industry, a group that includes 23 individual companies and currently sits at #156 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 18% this year, meaning that FLR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Owens Corning falls under the Building Products - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 34 stocks and is ranked #168. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -7.9%.

Fluor and Owens Corning could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

Published in