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Are Business Services Stocks Lagging APi Group (APG) 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 APi (APG - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

APi is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 237 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #14. 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 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. APi is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APG's full-year earnings has moved 1.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that APG has returned about 18% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of -7.2% on a year-to-date basis. This means that APi is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Business Services sector, EDENRED (EDNMY - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 4%.

In EDENRED's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 9.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, APi belongs to the Business - Services industry, a group that includes 23 individual companies and currently sits at #159 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 6.3% so far this year, so APG is performing better in this area.

In contrast, EDENRED falls under the Technology Services industry. Currently, this industry has 109 stocks and is ranked #163. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -6.6%.

Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to APi and EDENRED as they could maintain their solid performance.

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