Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging Booking Holdings (BKNG) This Year?
The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Booking Holdings (BKNG) 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? 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.
Booking Holdings is one of 227 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 in 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 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. Booking Holdings is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BKNG's full-year earnings has moved 7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, BKNG has gained about 28% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Retail-Wholesale sector has returned an average of 4.2% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Booking Holdings is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Kroger (KR) is another Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 5.2%.
The consensus estimate for Kroger's current year EPS has increased 7.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Booking Holdings belongs to the Internet - Commerce industry, a group that includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #64 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 10.1% so far this year, so BKNG is performing better in this area.
Kroger, however, belongs to the Retail - Supermarkets industry. Currently, this 9-stock industry is ranked #29. The industry has moved -1.2% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Retail-Wholesale sector may want to keep a close eye on Booking Holdings and Kroger as they attempt to continue 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
Booking Holdings Inc. (BKNG) : Free Stock Analysis Report
The Kroger Co. (KR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
