Has Asbury Automotive Group (ABG) Outpaced Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?
For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Asbury Automotive Group (ABG) 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 Retail-Wholesale peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Asbury Automotive Group is a member of our Retail-Wholesale group, which includes 232 different companies and currently sits at #2 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. Asbury Automotive Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABG's full-year earnings has moved 24.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
According to our latest data, ABG has moved about 2.5% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Retail-Wholesale companies have returned an average of -0.6%. As we can see, Asbury Automotive Group is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Designer Brands (DBI), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 4.3%.
In Designer Brands' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 47.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Asbury Automotive Group is a member of the Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry, which includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #10 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 1.1% so far this year, so ABG is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Designer Brands falls under the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry. Currently, this industry has 42 stocks and is ranked #38. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +0.9%.
Asbury Automotive Group and Designer Brands could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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