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Has The Kroger Co. (KR) Outpaced Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Kroger (KR - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Kroger is one of 230 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #13 in 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 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. Kroger is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for KR's full-year earnings has moved 9.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, KR has returned 19.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Retail-Wholesale sector has returned an average of -26% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Kroger is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Retail-Wholesale stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Penske Automotive (PAG - Free Report) . The stock has returned 1.7% year-to-date.

In Penske Automotive's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 12.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Kroger belongs to the Retail - Supermarkets industry, a group that includes 9 individual stocks and currently sits at #196 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 4.4% so far this year, so KR is performing better in this area.

Penske Automotive, however, belongs to the Automotive - Retail and Whole Sales industry. Currently, this 10-stock industry is ranked #23. The industry has moved -4% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to Kroger and Penske Automotive as they could maintain their solid performance.


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Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (PAG) - free report >>

The Kroger Co. (KR) - free report >>

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