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Has HMS Holdings (HMSY) Outpaced Other Medical Stocks This Year?

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The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is HMS Holdings one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Medical peers, we might be able to answer that question.

HMS Holdings is one of 841 companies in the Medical group. The Medical group currently sits at #2 within 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 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. HMSY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HMSY's full-year earnings has moved 11.77% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, HMSY has gained about 5.15% so far this year. At the same time, Medical stocks have gained an average of 5.05%. This means that HMS Holdings is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, HMSY belongs to the Medical Info Systems industry, which includes 22 individual stocks and currently sits at #74 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 8.95% this year, meaning that HMSY is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to HMSY as it looks to continue its solid performance.

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