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Is American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) Stock Outpacing Its Retail-Wholesale Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

American Eagle Outfitters is a member of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group includes 226 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. 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 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. American Eagle Outfitters is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEO's full-year earnings has moved 1.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, AEO has moved about 6% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Retail-Wholesale group have gained about 5.7% on average. This shows that American Eagle Outfitters is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is AutoNation (AN - Free Report) . The stock is up 32.2% year-to-date.

In AutoNation's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, American Eagle Outfitters is a member of the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry, which includes 45 individual companies and currently sits at #162 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 10.3% so far this year, so AEO is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

On the other hand, AutoNation belongs to the Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry. This 10-stock industry is currently ranked #183. The industry has moved +23.6% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to track American Eagle Outfitters and AutoNation. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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