The Construction group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Aecom Technology (ACM) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Construction peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Aecom Technology 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 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 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. Aecom Technology is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACM's full-year earnings has moved 1% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that ACM has returned about 0.2% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Construction group have lost about 2.7% on average. This means that Aecom Technology is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Construction stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Primoris Services (PRIM). The stock is up 0.6% year-to-date.

In Primoris Services' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 5.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Aecom Technology belongs to the Engineering - R and D Services industry, a group that includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #21 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 1.2% this year, meaning that ACM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Primoris Services falls under the Building Products - Heavy Construction industry. Currently, this industry has 10 stocks and is ranked #1. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +0.9%.

Aecom Technology and Primoris Services could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Construction stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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AECOM (ACM):Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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