Are Consumer Discretionary Stocks Lagging Crocs (CROX) 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. Crocs (CROX) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Discretionary peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Crocs is a member of our Consumer Discretionary group, which includes 258 different companies and currently sits at #8 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 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. Crocs is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CROX's full-year earnings has moved 6.4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, CROX has returned 0.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of -4.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Crocs is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, Escalade (ESCA), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 11.2%.

The consensus estimate for Escalade's current year EPS has increased 10.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Crocs belongs to the Textile - Apparel industry, a group that includes 21 individual companies and currently sits at #85 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.4% this year, meaning that CROX is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Escalade belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Products industry. This 23-stock industry is currently ranked #57. The industry has moved -3.8% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to track Crocs and Escalade. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

5 Stocks Set to Double

Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in the coming year. While not all picks can be winners, previous recommendations have soared +112%, +171%, +209% and +232%.

Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.

Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>

Want 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

Crocs, Inc. (CROX): Free Stock Analysis Report

Escalade, Incorporated (ESCA): Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research