Investors interested in Business Services stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. GDS Holdings (GDS) 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.
GDS Holdings is one of 258 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 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. GDS Holdings is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GDS' full-year earnings has moved 75.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that GDS has returned about 53.7% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of 2% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, GDS Holdings is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Business Services sector, SGS SA (SGSOY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 4.9%.
In SGS SA's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, GDS Holdings belongs to the Technology Services industry, which includes 122 individual stocks and currently sits at #87 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 12.9% so far this year, so GDS is performing better in this area.
In contrast, SGS SA falls under the Business - Services industry. Currently, this industry has 26 stocks and is ranked #83. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +15.3%.
GDS Holdings and SGS SA 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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GDS Holdings (GDS): Free Stock Analysis Report SGS SA (SGSOY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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