The Construction group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is PulteGroup (PHM) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Construction sector should help us answer this question.

PulteGroup is one of 95 companies in the Construction group. The Construction group currently sits at #1 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. PulteGroup is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PHM's full-year earnings has moved 5.2% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, PHM has moved about 8.8% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Construction group have gained about 6.3% on average. This means that PulteGroup is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Construction stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is United Rentals (URI). The stock has returned 14.3% year-to-date.

In United Rentals' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, PulteGroup belongs to the Building Products - Home Builders industry, a group that includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #49 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 3.2% this year, meaning that PHM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

United Rentals, however, belongs to the Building Products - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 28-stock industry is ranked #32. The industry has moved +7.5% so far this year.

PulteGroup and United Rentals could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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



PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM):Free Stock Analysis Report

United Rentals, Inc. (URI):Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research