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The Construction group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Babcock International Group PLC (BCKIY) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Babcock International Group PLC is one of 90 individual stocks in the Construction sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 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. Babcock International Group PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCKIY's full-year earnings has moved 11.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, BCKIY has gained about 89.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Construction group have lost about 1.2% on average. This means that Babcock International Group PLC is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Construction sector, Pacasmayo (CPAC), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 4.2%.

In Pacasmayo's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 4.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Babcock International Group PLC belongs to the Engineering - R and D Services industry, which includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #39 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 0.5% so far this year, meaning that BCKIY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Pacasmayo belongs to the Building Products - Concrete and Aggregates industry. This 5-stock industry is currently ranked #64. The industry has moved +7% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Construction stocks should continue to track Babcock International Group PLC and Pacasmayo. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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