Is Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Discretionary Peers This Year?
Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Grand Canyon Education (LOPE) 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.
Grand Canyon Education is one of 277 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #10 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. Grand Canyon Education is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LOPE's full-year earnings has moved 2.3% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that LOPE has returned about 7.8% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of 5.3%. This means that Grand Canyon Education is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another Consumer Discretionary stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Crocs (CROX). The stock has returned 54.5% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Crocs' current year EPS has increased 1.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Grand Canyon Education belongs to the Schools industry, a group that includes 18 individual companies and currently sits at #52 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.8% so far this year, so LOPE is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Crocs falls under the Textile - Apparel industry. Currently, this industry has 20 stocks and is ranked #191. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -18.8%.
Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Grand Canyon Education and Crocs. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Grand Canyon Education, Inc. (LOPE) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Crocs, Inc. (CROX) : Free Stock Analysis Report