The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Healthcare Services (HCSG) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Business Services sector should help us answer this question.
Healthcare Services is one of 234 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit 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 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. Healthcare Services is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCSG's full-year earnings has moved 7.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that HCSG has returned about 23.3% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have lost an average of 11.8%. As we can see, Healthcare Services is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Business Services sector, Ralliant (RAL), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 41.8%.
For Ralliant, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 11.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Healthcare Services belongs to the Business - Services industry, which includes 20 individual stocks and currently sits at #104 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 17.8% so far this year, so HCSG is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Ralliant falls under the Technology Services industry. Currently, this industry has 112 stocks and is ranked #162. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -5.5%.
Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track Healthcare Services and Ralliant. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
Beyond Nvidia: AI's Second Wave Is Here
The AI revolution has already minted millionaires. But the stocks everyone knows about aren't likely to keep delivering the biggest profits. AI’s second wave is moving from infrastructure to implementation and these companies are at the forefront of this transition, positioned to become what Amazon and Google were to the internet era.
See Stocks Now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (HCSG): Free Stock Analysis Report
Ralliant Corporation (RAL): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).