Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) This Year?

For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. BJ's Restaurants (BJRI) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

BJ's Restaurants is one of 193 companies in the Retail-Wholesale group. The Retail-Wholesale group currently sits at #7 within 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 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. BJ's Restaurants is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BJRI's full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, BJRI has returned 13.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Retail-Wholesale sector has returned an average of 5.1% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that BJ's Restaurants is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Casey's General Stores (CASY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 17.2%.

For Casey's General Stores, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 7.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, BJ's Restaurants is a member of the Retail - Restaurants industry, which includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #186 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 9.7% so far this year, so BJRI is performing better in this area.

Casey's General Stores, however, belongs to the Retail - Convenience Stores industry. Currently, this 2-stock industry is ranked #4. The industry has moved +15.3% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to BJ's Restaurants and Casey's General Stores as they could maintain their solid performance.

Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"

Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.

This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.

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

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

Zacks Investment Research