For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. FirstCash Holdings (FCFS) 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.
FirstCash Holdings is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 262 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
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. FirstCash Holdings is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FCFS' full-year earnings has moved 1.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that FCFS has returned about 46.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have gained about 1.5% on average. This means that FirstCash Holdings is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Green Dot (GDOT) is another Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 22.7%.
The consensus estimate for Green Dot's current year EPS has increased 32.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, FirstCash Holdings belongs to the Financial Transaction Services industry, which includes 34 individual stocks and currently sits at #34 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.8% this year, meaning that FCFS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Green Dot is also part of the same industry.
Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on FirstCash Holdings and Green Dot as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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FirstCash Holdings, Inc. (FCFS): Free Stock Analysis Report Green Dot Corporation (GDOT): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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