Is Afya (AFYA) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Discretionary Peers This Year?

For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Afya (AFYA) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.Afya is one of 255 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #10 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.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. Afya is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AFYA's full-year earnings has moved 8.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.Based on the most recent data, AFYA has returned 8.5% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have gained an average of 5.3%. As we can see, Afya is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.American Public Education (APEI) is another Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 38.1%.The consensus estimate for American Public Education's current year EPS has increased 14% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).To break things down more, Afya belongs to the Schools industry, a group that includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #19 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 2.8% so far this year, so AFYA is performing better in this area. American Public Education is also part of the same industry.Investors interested in the Consumer Discretionary sector may want to keep a close eye on Afya and American Public Education as they attempt to continue their solid performance.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Afya Limited (AFYA): Free Stock Analysis Report American Public Education, Inc. (APEI): Free Stock Analysis Report Philip Morris International Inc. (PM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks