For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Arcos Dorados (ARCO) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Retail-Wholesale peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Arcos Dorados is one of 187 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. Arcos Dorados is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARCO's full-year earnings has moved 6.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that ARCO has returned about 11.4% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Retail-Wholesale sector has returned an average of 0.2% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Arcos Dorados is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Maplebear (CART), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 6.1%.
The consensus estimate for Maplebear's current year EPS has increased 1.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Arcos Dorados belongs to the Retail - Restaurants industry, which includes 36 individual stocks and currently sits at #200 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.5% this year, meaning that ARCO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Maplebear falls under the Internet - Commerce industry. Currently, this industry has 35 stocks and is ranked #187. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -1%.
Investors interested in the Retail-Wholesale sector may want to keep a close eye on Arcos Dorados and Maplebear as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (ARCO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Maplebear Inc. (CART): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).