For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Marcus (MCS) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Consumer Discretionary sector should help us answer this question.

Marcus is one of 270 individual stocks in the Consumer Discretionary sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Marcus is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MCS' full-year earnings has moved 310.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, MCS has gained about 49.3% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of 10.7%. As we can see, Marcus is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Adtalem Global Education (ATGE) is another Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 47.9%.

The consensus estimate for Adtalem Global Education's current year EPS has increased 2.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Marcus belongs to the Leisure and Recreation Services industry, a group that includes 31 individual stocks and currently sits at #18 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 16.8% so far this year, so MCS is performing better in this area.

Adtalem Global Education, however, belongs to the Schools industry. Currently, this 17-stock industry is ranked #11. The industry has moved +1.5% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to Marcus and Adtalem Global Education as they could maintain their solid performance.

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