For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Ross Stores is a member of our Retail-Wholesale group, which includes 183 different companies and currently sits at #8 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Ross Stores is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ROST's full-year earnings has moved 5.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, ROST has moved about 31.5% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Retail-Wholesale group have gained about 0% on average. This shows that Ross Stores is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Signet (SIG), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 43%.
For Signet, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong 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 #6 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 13.3% so far this year, so ROST is performing better in this area.
On the other hand, Signet belongs to the Retail - Jewelry industry. This 6-stock industry is currently ranked #42. The industry has moved +37% year to date.
Investors with an interest in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to track Ross Stores and Signet. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).