For those looking to find strong Consumer Discretionary stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Makita Corp. (MKTAY) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Makita Corp. is a member of our Consumer Discretionary group, which includes 280 different companies and currently sits at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Makita Corp. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MKTAY's full-year earnings has moved 3.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, MKTAY has returned 1.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Discretionary group have lost about 5.4% on average. This shows that Makita Corp. is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Consumer Discretionary stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE). The stock is up 18.8% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Madison Square Garden Entertainment's current year EPS has increased 5.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Makita Corp. belongs to the Tools - Handheld industry, which includes 3 individual stocks and currently sits at #36 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 5.9% so far this year, so MKTAY is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Madison Square Garden Entertainment falls under the Media Conglomerates industry. Currently, this industry has 15 stocks and is ranked #99. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -6.3%.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to Makita Corp. and Madison Square Garden Entertainment as they could maintain their solid performance.

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