Yahoo Finance Is Accenture (ACN) Stock Outpacing Its Business Services Peers This Year?
Investors interested in Business Services stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Accenture (ACN) 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.
Accenture is one of 335 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #8 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Accenture is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACN's full-year earnings has moved 1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, ACN has returned 5% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have gained about 3.3% on average. This shows that Accenture is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Business Services sector, Crawford & Company B (CRD.B), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 53.5%.
The consensus estimate for Crawford & Company B's current year EPS has increased 8.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Accenture belongs to the Consulting Services industry, a group that includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #25 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 4.7% so far this year, so ACN is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Crawford & Company B, however, belongs to the Business - Services industry. Currently, this 25-stock industry is ranked #36. The industry has moved +10.5% so far this year.
Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track Accenture and Crawford & Company B. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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