The Consumer Discretionary group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Lincoln Educational Services Corporation (LINC) 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.

Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 272 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 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. Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LINC's full-year earnings has moved 5.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, LINC has moved about 61.4% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have gained about 16.1% on average. This means that Lincoln Educational Services Corporation is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Consumer Discretionary sector, Adtalem Global Education (ATGE), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 54%.

The consensus estimate for Adtalem Global Education's current year EPS has increased 3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Lincoln Educational Services Corporation belongs to the Schools industry, a group that includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 9.2% so far this year, so LINC is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Adtalem Global Education is also part of the same industry.

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

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