Investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Howden Joinery (HWDJY) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Discretionary peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Howden Joinery is a member of the Consumer Discretionary sector. This group includes 280 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Howden Joinery is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWDJY's full-year earnings has moved 1.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that HWDJY has returned about 15% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have lost an average of 7.8%. As we can see, Howden Joinery is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Kontoor Brands (KTB). The stock is up 10.3% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Kontoor Brands' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Howden Joinery belongs to the Household Appliances industry, which includes 3 individual stocks and currently sits at #203 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 20.5% this year, meaning that HWDJY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Kontoor Brands, however, belongs to the Textile - Apparel industry. Currently, this 20-stock industry is ranked #162. The industry has moved -31.6% so far this year.

Howden Joinery and Kontoor Brands 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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