Is ICF International (ICFI) Outperforming Other Business Services Stocks This Year?
The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has ICF International (ICFI) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
ICF International is one of 315 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #8 within 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. ICF International is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ICFI's full-year earnings has moved 0.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, ICFI has gained about 16.2% so far this year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have gained an average of 10.9%. This means that ICF International is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
MediaAlpha, Inc. (MAX) is another Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 93.3%.
In MediaAlpha, Inc.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 53.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, ICF International belongs to the Government Services industry, a group that includes 3 individual stocks and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 12.9% so far this year, meaning that ICFI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, MediaAlpha, Inc. belongs to the Technology Services industry. This 174-stock industry is currently ranked #86. The industry has moved +18.9% year to date.
ICF International and MediaAlpha, Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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