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Is H&R Block (HRB) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Discretionary Peers 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. Has H&R Block (HRB - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Consumer Discretionary sector should help us answer this question.

H&R Block is a member of our Consumer Discretionary group, which includes 259 different companies and currently sits at #12 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. H&R Block is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HRB's full-year earnings has moved 8.1% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, HRB has gained about 14% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of -10%. This shows that H&R Block is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, AMC Entertainment (AMC - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 85.9%.

In AMC Entertainment's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 71.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, H&R Block is a member of the Consumer Services - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #61 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 11.1% so far this year, meaning that HRB is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, AMC Entertainment falls under the Leisure and Recreation Services industry. Currently, this industry has 29 stocks and is ranked #167. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -4.4%.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to H&R Block and AMC Entertainment as they could maintain their solid performance.

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