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Is Cintas (CTAS) Outperforming Other Business Services Stocks This Year?

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

Cintas is one of 271 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #3 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Cintas is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CTAS' full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that CTAS has returned about 24.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of -0.9% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Cintas is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is ABM Industries (ABM - Free Report) . The stock has returned 3% year-to-date.

In ABM Industries' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Cintas belongs to the Business - Services industry, a group that includes 26 individual companies and currently sits at #36 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 18% so far this year, so CTAS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. ABM Industries is also part of the same industry.

Cintas and ABM Industries could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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