For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Corpay (CPAY) 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? 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 our Business Services group, which includes 234 different companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
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. 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 4.6% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, CPAY has returned 1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have lost about 11.1% on average. As we can see, Corpay is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is GDS Holdings (GDS). The stock has returned 16.8% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, GDS Holdings' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 538.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Corpay belongs to the Financial Transaction Services industry, a group that includes 36 individual companies and currently sits at #169 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 17.6% so far this year, so CPAY is performing better in this area.
On the other hand, GDS Holdings belongs to the Technology Services industry. This 111-stock industry is currently ranked #194. The industry has moved -9.3% year to date.
Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Corpay and GDS Holdings as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).