Investors interested in Business Services stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Enpro (NPO) 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.
Enpro is a member of our Business Services group, which includes 237 different companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Enpro is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NPO's full-year earnings has moved 0.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, NPO has gained about 28.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have lost about 7.9% on average. As we can see, Enpro is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Quad/Graphics (QUAD) is another Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 12.1%.
Over the past three months, Quad/Graphics' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Enpro belongs to the Technology Services industry, a group that includes 109 individual stocks and currently sits at #161 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 8.5% this year, meaning that NPO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Quad/Graphics, however, belongs to the Advertising and Marketing industry. Currently, this 15-stock industry is ranked #83. The industry has moved -5.2% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Enpro and Quad/Graphics as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Enpro Inc. (NPO): Free Stock Analysis Report Quad Graphics, Inc (QUAD): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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