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Are Business Services Stocks Lagging Crawford & Company (CRD.A) This Year?

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The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Crawford (CRD.A - 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.

Crawford is one of 335 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Crawford is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRD.A's full-year earnings has moved 13% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, CRD.A has returned 63.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of 3.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Crawford is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Sprinkler (CXM - Free Report) . The stock has returned 55.5% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Sprinkler's current year EPS has increased 70.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Crawford is a member of the Business - Services industry, which includes 25 individual companies and currently sits at #16 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 0.5% so far this year, so CRD.A is performing better in this area.

Sprinkler, however, belongs to the Technology Services industry. Currently, this 195-stock industry is ranked #92. The industry has moved +6.4% so far this year.

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


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