The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Adidas AG (ADDYY) 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.

Adidas AG is one of 257 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #12 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Adidas AG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ADDYY's full-year earnings has moved 3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, ADDYY has moved about 1.3% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of -4.8%. This means that Adidas AG is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, Netflix (NFLX), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 23.6%.

Over the past three months, Netflix's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Adidas AG belongs to the Shoes and Retail Apparel industry, which includes 11 individual stocks and currently sits at #217 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 24.3% so far this year, so ADDYY is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Netflix falls under the Broadcast Radio and Television industry. Currently, this industry has 19 stocks and is ranked #38. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +14.1%.

Adidas AG and Netflix could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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

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