The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Healthcare Services (HCSG) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Healthcare Services is one of 244 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #5 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 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. Healthcare Services is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCSG's full-year earnings has moved 19.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the most recent data, HCSG has returned 29.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of -9.9% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Healthcare Services is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Paymentus (PAY). The stock has returned 7.9% year-to-date.
For Paymentus, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 16% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Healthcare Services belongs to the Business - Services industry, a group that includes 19 individual stocks and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 6.8% so far this year, so HCSG is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Paymentus falls under the Financial Transaction Services industry. Currently, this industry has 36 stocks and is ranked #104. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -2.8%.
Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track Healthcare Services and Paymentus. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (HCSG): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).