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 Adtalem Global Education (ATGE) 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.

Adtalem Global Education is one of 266 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #8 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 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. Adtalem Global Education is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATGE's full-year earnings has moved 5.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ATGE has returned about 17.9% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Discretionary sector has returned an average of 3.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Adtalem Global Education is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Consumer Discretionary stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Carnival (CCL). The stock has returned 11% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Carnival's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Adtalem Global Education belongs to the Schools industry, a group that includes 18 individual stocks and currently sits at #50 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 4.6% so far this year, so ATGE is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Carnival belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Services industry. This 30-stock industry is currently ranked #62. The industry has moved +5.6% year to date.

Investors interested in the Consumer Discretionary sector may want to keep a close eye on Adtalem Global Education and Carnival as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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