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Is Lowe's (LOW) Outperforming Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?

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

Lowe's is a member of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group includes 220 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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. Lowe's is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LOW's full-year earnings has moved 6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, LOW has gained about 55.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Retail-Wholesale sector has returned an average of -8.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Lowe's 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 Penske Automotive (PAG - Free Report) . The stock is up 71.6% year-to-date.

For Penske Automotive, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Lowe's belongs to the Building Products - Retail industry, a group that includes 9 individual companies and currently sits at #5 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 47.5% so far this year, so LOW is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Penske Automotive belongs to the Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry. This 9-stock industry is currently ranked #20. The industry has moved +31.3% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to track Lowe's and Penske Automotive. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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Lowe's Companies, Inc. (LOW) - free report >>

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