Are Computer and Technology Stocks Lagging Brother Industries (BRTHY) This Year?

The Computer and Technology group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Brother Industries Ltd. (BRTHY) 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 Computer and Technology peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Brother Industries Ltd. is one of 610 individual stocks in the Computer and Technology sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Brother Industries Ltd. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRTHY's full-year earnings has moved 10.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, BRTHY has returned 1.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Computer and Technology sector has returned an average of -13.9% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Brother Industries Ltd. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Computer and Technology sector, Baidu Inc. (BIDU), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 1.1%.

For Baidu Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Brother Industries Ltd. belongs to the Electronics - Miscellaneous Products industry, a group that includes 34 individual companies and currently sits at #142 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 10.3% so far this year, so BRTHY is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Baidu Inc. falls under the Internet - Services industry. Currently, this industry has 37 stocks and is ranked #135. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -14.8%.

Brother Industries Ltd. and Baidu Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research