Has Columbia Sportswear (COLM) Outpaced Other Consumer Discretionary Stocks 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. Has Columbia Sportswear (COLM) been one of those stocks this year? 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.Columbia Sportswear is one of 258 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 in 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Columbia Sportswear is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for COLM's full-year earnings has moved 11.1% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.Based on the most recent data, COLM has returned 2.2% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have lost an average of 5.2%. As we can see, Columbia Sportswear is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, Flexsteel Industries (FLXS), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 18.4%.For Flexsteel Industries, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 15.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).Looking more specifically, Columbia Sportswear belongs to the Textile - Apparel industry, a group that includes 21 individual stocks and currently sits at #81 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 1% so far this year, so COLM is performing better in this area. In contrast, Flexsteel Industries falls under the Furniture industry. Currently, this industry has 8 stocks and is ranked #166. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -9.1%.Investors interested in the Consumer Discretionary sector may want to keep a close eye on Columbia Sportswear and Flexsteel Industries as they attempt to continue their solid performance.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>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 Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM): Free Stock Analysis Report Flexsteel Industries, Inc. (FLXS): 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