The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. APi (APG) 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 Business Services peers, we might be able to answer that question.
APi is a member of our Business Services group, which includes 252 different companies and currently sits at #4 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 is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. APi is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for APG's full-year earnings has moved 4.4% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Our latest available data shows that APG has returned about 48.8% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of 2.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that APi is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Business Services sector, Experian PLC (EXPGY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 21%.
In Experian PLC's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 0.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, APi belongs to the Business - Services industry, a group that includes 26 individual stocks and currently sits at #52 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 7.8% this year, meaning that APG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Experian PLC falls under the Business - Information Services industry. Currently, this industry has 8 stocks and is ranked #72. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +27.3%.
Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on APi and Experian PLC as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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APi Group Corporation (APG): Free Stock Analysis Report Experian PLC (EXPGY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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