Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Business Services Stocks Lagging Barrett Business Services (BBSI) This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Barrett Business Services (BBSI - 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.

Barrett Business Services is one of 315 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 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 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. Barrett Business Services is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BBSI's full-year earnings has moved 3.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, BBSI has gained about 6.6% so far this year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have gained an average of 4.7%. This means that Barrett Business Services is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Business Services sector, Byrna Technologies Inc. (BYRN - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 114.1%.

In Byrna Technologies Inc.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 96.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Barrett Business Services belongs to the Outsourcing industry, a group that includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #217 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 1.4% so far this year, so BBSI is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Byrna Technologies Inc. however, belongs to the Technology Services industry. Currently, this 173-stock industry is ranked #87. The industry has moved +12.5% so far this year.

Barrett Business Services and Byrna Technologies Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


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


Barrett Business Services, Inc. (BBSI) - free report >>

Byrna Technologies Inc. (BYRN) - free report >>

Published in