The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Corpay (CPAY) 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.
Corpay is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 245 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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. Corpay is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPAY's full-year earnings has moved 1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that CPAY has returned about 35.2% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Business Services companies have returned an average of -13.8%. This means that Corpay is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is HireQuest, Inc. (HQI). The stock is up 79.2% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, HireQuest, Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 53.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Corpay belongs to the Financial Transaction Services industry, which includes 36 individual stocks and currently sits at #107 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 12.1% so far this year, so CPAY is performing better in this area.
On the other hand, HireQuest, Inc. belongs to the Staffing Firms industry. This 12-stock industry is currently ranked #107. The industry has moved +34.3% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to Corpay and HireQuest, Inc. 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.
Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners, but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like D-Wave Quantum, which shot up +680.1%.
Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant 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
Corpay, Inc. (CPAY): Free Stock Analysis Report
HireQuest, Inc. (HQI): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).