The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Ross Stores (ROST) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Retail-Wholesale peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Ross Stores is a member of our Retail-Wholesale group, which includes 187 different companies and currently sits at #7 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 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. Ross Stores is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ROST's full-year earnings has moved 5.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the most recent data, ROST has returned 39.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Retail-Wholesale group have lost about 0.5% on average. This means that Ross Stores is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Maplebear (CART). The stock is up 1.5% year-to-date.
In Maplebear's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Ross Stores belongs to the Retail - Discount Stores industry, a group that includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #30 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 15.5% so far this year, so ROST is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Maplebear falls under the Internet - Commerce industry. Currently, this industry has 35 stocks and is ranked #181. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -5%.
Going forward, investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to Ross Stores and Maplebear as they could maintain their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).