Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging Amazon.com (AMZN) This Year?

In this article:

Investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Amazon (AMZN) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Retail-Wholesale sector should help us answer this question.

Amazon is one of 218 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 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 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. Amazon is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMZN's full-year earnings has moved 13.3% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, AMZN has returned 17.3% so far this year. In comparison, Retail-Wholesale companies have returned an average of 10.8%. This shows that Amazon is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Retail-Wholesale stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF). The stock has returned 55.8% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Abercrombie & Fitch's current year EPS has increased 30.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Amazon is a member of the Internet - Commerce industry, which includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #87 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 10.4% this year, meaning that AMZN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Abercrombie & Fitch falls under the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry. Currently, this industry has 42 stocks and is ranked #184. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +19.8%.

Going forward, investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to Amazon and Abercrombie & Fitch as they could maintain their solid performance.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Abercrombie & Fitch Company (ANF) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research

Advertisement