Is Laureate Education (LAUR) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Discretionary Peers This Year?

The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Laureate Education (LAUR) 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.Laureate Education is one of 255 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Laureate Education is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LAUR's full-year earnings has moved 6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.Based on the most recent data, LAUR has returned 23.3% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have gained an average of 7.6%. This shows that Laureate Education is outperforming its peers so far this year.Another Consumer Discretionary stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is PIGEON CORP (PGENY). The stock has returned 53.3% year-to-date.The consensus estimate for PIGEON CORP's current year EPS has increased 4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Breaking things down more, Laureate Education is a member of the Schools industry, which includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 8.9% so far this year, so LAUR is performing better in this area. PIGEON CORP, however, belongs to the Consumer Products - Discretionary industry. Currently, this 24-stock industry is ranked #89. The industry has moved -11.5% so far this year.Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Laureate Education and PIGEON CORP. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.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 Laureate Education (LAUR): Free Stock Analysis Report PIGEON CORP (PGENY): 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