Investors interested in Business Services stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Gen Digital (GEN) 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.
Gen Digital is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 248 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #11. 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. Gen Digital is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GEN's full-year earnings has moved 1.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, GEN has gained about 12.7% so far this year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have lost an average of 9.2%. This means that Gen Digital is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Ingram Micro (INGM) is another Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 35.2%.
The consensus estimate for Ingram Micro's current year EPS has increased 3.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Gen Digital belongs to the Technology Services industry, a group that includes 122 individual stocks and currently sits at #162 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 10.5% this year, meaning that GEN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Ingram Micro is also part of the same industry.
Gen Digital and Ingram Micro could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).