Is Allot (ALLT) Stock Outpacing Its Business Services Peers This Year?

For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Allot Communications (ALLT) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Allot Communications is a member of our Business Services group, which includes 270 different companies and currently sits at #3 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 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. Allot Communications is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALLT's full-year earnings has moved 121.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ALLT has returned about 27.9% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have gained an average of 3.5%. This means that Allot Communications is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Limbach (LMB). The stock has returned 48.5% year-to-date.

In Limbach's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 39.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Allot Communications is a member of the Technology Services industry, which includes 129 individual companies and currently sits at #45 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 3.5% so far this year, so ALLT is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Limbach belongs to the Building Products - Maintenance Service industry. This 2-stock industry is currently ranked #2. The industry has moved +24.2% year to date.

Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Allot Communications and Limbach as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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

Zacks Investment Research