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Has Citi Trends (CTRN) Outpaced Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Citi Trends (CTRN - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Citi Trends is one of 221 companies in the Retail-Wholesale group. The Retail-Wholesale group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Citi Trends is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CTRN's full-year earnings has moved 0.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that CTRN has returned about 83.5% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Retail-Wholesale stocks have lost an average of 3.8%. This means that Citi Trends is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Darden Restaurants (DRI - Free Report) . The stock is up 24.6% year-to-date.

In Darden Restaurants' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Citi Trends belongs to the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry, a group that includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 7.1% so far this year, so CTRN is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Darden Restaurants, however, belongs to the Retail - Restaurants industry. Currently, this 41-stock industry is ranked #211. The industry has moved +11.4% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to track Citi Trends and Darden Restaurants. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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Darden Restaurants, Inc. (DRI) - free report >>

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