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Are Consumer Discretionary Stocks Lagging Mattel (MAT) This Year?

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The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Mattel (MAT - 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.

Mattel is a member of our Consumer Discretionary group, which includes 280 different companies and currently sits at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Mattel is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MAT's full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, MAT has moved about 2.2% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have lost about 1.3% on average. This means that Mattel is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Consumer Discretionary stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Netflix (NFLX - Free Report) . The stock has returned 29.1% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Netflix's current year EPS has increased 4.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Mattel belongs to the Toys - Games - Hobbies industry, a group that includes 6 individual companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 1.2% so far this year, meaning that MAT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Netflix belongs to the Broadcast Radio and Television industry. This 20-stock industry is currently ranked #167. The industry has moved +14.3% year to date.

Mattel and Netflix could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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