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Is Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) 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. Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Norwegian Cruise Line is one of 272 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #9 within 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Norwegian Cruise Line is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NCLH's full-year earnings has moved 18% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, NCLH has returned 18.8% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have gained an average of 5.3%. This means that Norwegian Cruise Line is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, Boyd Gaming (BYD - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 14.4%.

In Boyd Gaming's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 3.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Norwegian Cruise Line is a member of the Leisure and Recreation Services industry, which includes 31 individual companies and currently sits at #102 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12.9% this year, meaning that NCLH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Boyd Gaming, however, belongs to the Gaming industry. Currently, this 41-stock industry is ranked #147. The industry has moved +14.3% so far this year.

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


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