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Has Paychex (PAYX) Outpaced Other Business Services Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Business Services stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Paychex (PAYX - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Paychex is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 277 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. Paychex is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PAYX's full-year earnings has moved 7.3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, PAYX has returned 44.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have lost about 24.3% on average. As we can see, Paychex is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Seagate (STX - Free Report) . The stock is up 79.3% year-to-date.

For Seagate, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Paychex belongs to the Outsourcing industry, which includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #95 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 35.2% so far this year, so PAYX is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Seagate belongs to the Technology Services industry. This 134-stock industry is currently ranked #172. The industry has moved -31.4% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track Paychex and Seagate. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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