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Are Construction Stocks Lagging Granite Construction (GVA) This Year?

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Investors interested in Construction stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Granite Construction (GVA - 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 Construction sector should help us answer this question.

Granite Construction is a member of our Construction group, which includes 91 different companies and currently sits at #4 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Granite Construction is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GVA's full-year earnings has moved 10.1% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, GVA has returned 40.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Construction sector has returned an average of 16.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Granite Construction is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Construction sector, KB Home (KBH - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 30.9%.

Over the past three months, KB Home's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Granite Construction belongs to the Building Products - Heavy Construction industry, which includes 10 individual stocks and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 56.7% so far this year, so GVA is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

In contrast, KB Home falls under the Building Products - Home Builders industry. Currently, this industry has 17 stocks and is ranked #16. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +22.4%.

Going forward, investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to Granite Construction and KB Home as they could maintain their solid performance.


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