Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Business Services Stocks Lagging Harte Hanks (HHS) 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 Harte-Hanks (HHS - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Harte-Hanks is a member of our Business Services group, which includes 328 different companies and currently sits at #6 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 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. Harte-Hanks is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HHS' full-year earnings has moved 19.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, HHS has moved about 104.7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have lost about 16.7% on average. This means that Harte-Hanks is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Instructure Holdings (INST - Free Report) . The stock has returned 2.5% year-to-date.

In Instructure Holdings' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Harte-Hanks belongs to the Advertising and Marketing industry, which includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #148 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 23.2% this year, meaning that HHS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Instructure Holdings falls under the Technology Services industry. Currently, this industry has 179 stocks and is ranked #141. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -33%.

Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Harte-Hanks and Instructure Holdings as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Harte Hanks, Inc. (HHS) - free report >>

Instructure Holdings, Inc. (INST) - free report >>

Published in