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Has Gartner (IT) Outpaced 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. Gartner (IT - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Gartner is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 277 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. 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. Gartner is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IT's full-year earnings has moved 11.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, IT has returned 96% so far this year. In comparison, Business Services companies have returned an average of -26.8%. This means that Gartner is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Korn/Ferry (KFY - Free Report) . The stock has returned 75.6% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Korn/Ferry's current year EPS has increased 13.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Gartner belongs to the Consulting Services industry, which includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #21 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 44.7% so far this year, so IT is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Korn/Ferry, however, belongs to the Staffing Firms industry. Currently, this 16-stock industry is ranked #37. The industry has moved +42% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track Gartner and Korn/Ferry. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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