Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Consumer Discretionary Stocks Lagging Carnival (CCL) This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Carnival (CCL - 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? 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.

Carnival is one of 281 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit 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 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. Carnival is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CCL's full-year earnings has moved 16.3% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that CCL has returned about 3.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of 0.8% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Carnival 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 Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH - Free Report) . The stock has returned 1.7% year-to-date.

For Norwegian Cruise Line, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 17.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Carnival belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Services industry, a group that includes 31 individual companies and currently sits at #198 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 9.1% this year, meaning that CCL is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Norwegian Cruise Line is also part of the same industry.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Carnival and Norwegian Cruise Line. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Carnival Corporation (CCL) - free report >>

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (NCLH) - free report >>

Published in