The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Healthcare Services (HCSG) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Healthcare Services is a member of our Business Services group, which includes 256 different companies and currently sits at #8 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
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. Healthcare Services is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCSG's full-year earnings has moved 10% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, HCSG has gained about 19.2% so far this year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have lost an average of 0.3%. As we can see, Healthcare Services is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Business Services sector, Huron Consulting (HURN), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 1.8%.
The consensus estimate for Huron Consulting's current year EPS has increased 2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Healthcare Services belongs to the Business - Services industry, a group that includes 26 individual companies and currently sits at #96 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 15.4% so far this year, so HCSG is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Huron Consulting falls under the Consulting Services industry. Currently, this industry has 13 stocks and is ranked #29. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -13.7%.
Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Healthcare Services and Huron Consulting as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (HCSG): Free Stock Analysis Report Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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