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Is H&R Block (HRB) Outperforming Other Consumer Discretionary Stocks 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. Is H&R Block (HRB - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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 one of 280 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #10 within 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. H&R Block is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HRB's full-year earnings has moved 0.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that HRB has returned about 16.3% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of -6%. This means that H&R Block is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Light & Wonder (LNW - Free Report) . The stock is up 22.1% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Light & Wonder's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, H&R Block belongs to the Consumer Services - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #64 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 0.4% this year, meaning that HRB is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Light & Wonder belongs to the Gaming industry. This 39-stock industry is currently ranked #140. The industry has moved +1.6% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track H&R Block and Light & Wonder. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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