Is EXL Service (EXLS) Outperforming 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. Has ExlService Holdings (EXLS) been one of those stocks this year? 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.
ExlService Holdings is one of 329 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #7 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. ExlService Holdings is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EXLS' full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, EXLS has gained about 17.4% so far this year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have lost an average of 13.9%. As we can see, ExlService Holdings is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Business Services sector, Huron Consulting (HURN), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 34.4%.
The consensus estimate for Huron Consulting's current year EPS has increased 1.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, ExlService Holdings belongs to the Outsourcing industry, a group that includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #70 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 3.2% so far this year, so EXLS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Huron Consulting, however, belongs to the Consulting Services industry. Currently, this 15-stock industry is ranked #48. The industry has moved -22.3% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to ExlService Holdings and Huron Consulting as they could maintain their solid performance.
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