Is Armstrong World Industries (AWI) performing better than other construction stocks this year?

Construction Group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always look for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Armstrong World Industries (AWI) currently one of these companies? To find out, let’s take a closer look at the company’s stock performance year-to-date.

Armstrong World Industries is one of 94 companies in the Construction group. Construction Group currently has a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find companies with better earnings prospects. This system has a long history of success and these stocks are on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Armstrong World Industries is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AWI’s full-year earnings has moved 2.7%. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company’s earnings prospects are better.

Our latest available data shows that AWI has returned approximately 16.8% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the construction sector returned an average of 9.3% year-over-year. This means that Armstrong World Industries has outperformed the sector as a whole this year.

Acuity Brands (AYI) is another construction company that has outperformed the sector this year. Since the beginning of the year, the share price has increased by 28.6%.

Over the past three months, the consensus estimate for Acuity Brands’ EPS for the current year has increased 5.5%. The stock is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

More specifically, Armstrong World Industries belongs to the Building Products – Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 28 individual companies and currently sits at #36 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Shares in this group have gained about 10.5% so far this year, so AWI is outperforming this group in terms of year-to-date profitability.

In turn, Acuity Brands belongs to the Building Products – Lighting industry. This 4-stock industry is currently ranked 90th. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has grown by 27.1%.

Investors interested in construction stocks should continue to monitor the Armstrong World Industries and Acuity brands. The shares of these companies will want to maintain their good performance.

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