Investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 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.
Cheesecake Factory is one of 187 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in 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 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. Cheesecake Factory is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAKE's full-year earnings has moved 0.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, CAKE has gained about 70.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Retail-Wholesale group have gained about 1.6% on average. This means that Cheesecake Factory is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Retail-Wholesale stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Advance Auto Parts (AAP). The stock has returned 32.4% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Advance Auto Parts' current year EPS has increased 7.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Cheesecake Factory belongs to the Retail - Restaurants industry, which includes 36 individual stocks and currently sits at #207 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 0.2% this year, meaning that CAKE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Advance Auto Parts, however, belongs to the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry. Currently, this 6-stock industry is ranked #48. The industry has moved -5.9% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Retail-Wholesale sector may want to keep a close eye on Cheesecake Factory and Advance Auto Parts as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).