Is The Kroger Co. (KR) Outperforming Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?

KR SPTN

For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Kroger (KR - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Kroger is a member of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group includes 230 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #15. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. Kroger is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KR's full-year earnings has moved 2.4% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that KR has returned about 2.1% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Retail-Wholesale companies have returned an average of -28.9%. This shows that Kroger is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Spartan Stores (SPTN - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 14%.

The consensus estimate for Spartan Stores' current year EPS has increased 6.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Kroger belongs to the Retail - Supermarkets industry, a group that includes 9 individual stocks and currently sits at #238 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 15.6% so far this year, so KR is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Spartan Stores falls under the Food - Natural Foods Products industry. Currently, this industry has 7 stocks and is ranked #76. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -10.3%.

Kroger and Spartan Stores could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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