Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Has Atento (ATTO) Outpaced Other Business Services Stocks This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Business Services stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Atento one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Business Services sector should help us answer this question.

Atento is one of 307 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #10 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATTO's full-year earnings has moved 13.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, ATTO has gained about 3.3% so far this year. In comparison, Business Services companies have returned an average of -38.8%. This shows that Atento is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is CBIZ (CBZ - Free Report) . The stock is up 4.4% year-to-date.

In CBIZ's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 8.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Atento belongs to the Outsourcing industry, which includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #51 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 27.2% so far this year, so ATTO is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

CBIZ, however, belongs to the Consulting Services industry. Currently, this 15-stock industry is ranked #39. The industry has moved +38.2% so far this year.

Atento and CBIZ could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


CBIZ, Inc. (CBZ) - free report >>

Published in