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Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging AutoZone (AZO) This Year?

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The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. AutoZone (AZO - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Retail-Wholesale peers, we might be able to answer that question.

AutoZone is a member of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group includes 218 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AZO's full-year earnings has moved 2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, AZO has moved about 9.1% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Retail-Wholesale sector has returned an average of 4.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that AutoZone is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Deckers (DECK - Free Report) is another Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 32%.

The consensus estimate for Deckers' current year EPS has increased 12.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, AutoZone belongs to the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry, a group that includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 8.1% so far this year, so AZO is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Deckers belongs to the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry. This 42-stock industry is currently ranked #112. The industry has moved +5.9% year to date.

AutoZone and Deckers could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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