Is Howmet Aerospace (HWM) doing better than other construction stocks this year?

For those looking to find strong construction stocks, it is wise to look within a group of companies that are outperforming their competitors. Howmet (HWM) is a stock that could certainly attract the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? A quick look at the company’s year-to-date results compared to the rest of the construction industry should help us answer this question.

Howmet is a member of our Construction group, which includes 94 different companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups and measures the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is an effective stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a range of different stocks that are likely to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Howmet is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWM’s full-year earnings has moved 9.7%. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company’s earnings prospects are better.

According to our latest data, HWM has moved approximately 53% year-over-year. Meanwhile, Construction Group shares have gained an average of about 8.4%. This means Howmet is outperforming its sector in terms of annual returns.

Louisiana-Pacific (LPX) is another construction stock that has outperformed the sector this year. Since the beginning of the year, the share price has increased by 32.2%.

For Louisiana-Pacific, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 50.2% over the past three months. The stock is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

More specifically, Howmet belongs to the Engineering and R&D Services industry, which includes 21 individual companies and currently sits at #48 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 24% this year, meaning HWM is outperforming in terms of year-to-date profits.

On the other hand, Louisiana-Pacific belongs to the Building Products – Timber industry. This 10-company industry currently ranks 156th. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has grown by -4.5%.

Investors interested in construction stocks should continue to monitor Howmet and Louisiana-Pacific. The shares of these companies will want to maintain their good performance.

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