For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group 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 253 different companies and currently sits at #6 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Healthcare Services is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCSG's full-year earnings has moved 4.8% 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 37.5% so far this year. In comparison, Business Services companies have returned an average of 0.2%. As we can see, Healthcare Services is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Business Services sector, Montrose Environmental (MEG), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 65.2%.
In Montrose Environmental's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 155.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Healthcare Services belongs to the Business - Services industry, which includes 26 individual stocks and currently sits at #89 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 4.4% so far this year, so HCSG is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Montrose Environmental falls under the Waste Removal Services industry. Currently, this industry has 22 stocks and is ranked #151. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +7.9%.
Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track Healthcare Services and Montrose Environmental. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Healthcare Services Group, Inc. (HCSG): Free Stock Analysis Report Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. (MEG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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