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Is First Data (FDC) Outperforming Other Business Services Stocks This Year?

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

First Data is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 191 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 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. FDC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FDC's full-year earnings has moved 1.63% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, FDC has gained about 48.14% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of 11.18% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, First Data is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, FDC belongs to the Business - Services industry, a group that includes 33 individual stocks and currently sits at #98 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 31.60% so far this year, meaning that FDC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track FDC. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.

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