The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Build-A-Bear (BBW) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Build-A-Bear is one of 196 companies in the Retail-Wholesale group. The Retail-Wholesale group currently sits at #8 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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. Build-A-Bear is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BBW's full-year earnings has moved 5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that BBW has returned about 37.3% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Retail-Wholesale sector has returned an average of 8% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Build-A-Bear is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Cheesecake Factory (CAKE). The stock is up 15.2% year-to-date.
For Cheesecake Factory, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Build-A-Bear belongs to the Retail - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 15 individual companies and currently sits at #28 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 8.2% so far this year, meaning that BBW is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Cheesecake Factory, however, belongs to the Retail - Restaurants industry. Currently, this 39-stock industry is ranked #193. The industry has moved -8% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Retail-Wholesale sector may want to keep a close eye on Build-A-Bear and Cheesecake Factory as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (BBW): Free Stock Analysis Report The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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