The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Sezzle Inc. (SEZL) 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.
Sezzle Inc. is one of 246 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services 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 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. Sezzle Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SEZL's full-year earnings has moved 8.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, SEZL has gained about 182.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of -8.9% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Sezzle Inc. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Sims Metal Management Ltd. (SMSMY). The stock is up 44.3% year-to-date.
For Sims Metal Management Ltd., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Sezzle Inc. belongs to the Financial Transaction Services industry, a group that includes 37 individual stocks and currently sits at #90 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 9.2% this year, meaning that SEZL is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Sims Metal Management Ltd. falls under the Waste Removal Services industry. Currently, this industry has 23 stocks and is ranked #93. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -3.1%.
Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to Sezzle Inc. and Sims Metal Management Ltd. as they could maintain their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).