Has Visa (V) Outpaced Other Business Services Stocks This Year?

Investors interested in Business Services stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Visa (V) 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? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of V and the rest of the Business Services group's stocks.

Visa is one of 244 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #14 in 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. V is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for V's full-year earnings has moved 4.20% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that V has returned about 0.60% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of -19.31% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Visa is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, V belongs to the Financial Transaction Services industry, which includes 30 individual stocks and currently sits at #121 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 14.37% this year, meaning that V is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

V will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.

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