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Is Clean Harbors (CLH) Stock Outpacing Its Business Services Peers 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. Is Clean Harbors (CLH - Free Report) 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.

Clean Harbors is one of 327 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #7 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Clean Harbors is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLH's full-year earnings has moved 47.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that CLH has returned about 19.2% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of -22.9% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Clean Harbors is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is CRA International (CRAI - Free Report) . The stock has returned 1.2% year-to-date.

In CRA International's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 3.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Clean Harbors belongs to the Waste Removal Services industry, a group that includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #63 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 5.3% so far this year, meaning that CLH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, CRA International belongs to the Consulting Services industry. This 15-stock industry is currently ranked #17. The industry has moved -24.1% year to date.

Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Clean Harbors and CRA International as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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