For those looking to find strong Construction stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Armstrong World Industries (AWI) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Armstrong World Industries is a member of the Construction sector. This group includes 88 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Armstrong World Industries is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AWI's full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, AWI has returned 61.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Construction sector has returned an average of 29.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Armstrong World Industries is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Acuity Brands (AYI) is another Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 58.6%.

For Acuity Brands, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Armstrong World Industries belongs to the Building Products - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 27 individual stocks and currently sits at #169 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 27.6% so far this year, meaning that AWI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Acuity Brands belongs to the Building Products - Lighting industry. This 3-stock industry is currently ranked #85. The industry has moved +56% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to Armstrong World Industries and Acuity Brands as they could maintain their solid performance.

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