Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is ESCO Technologies (ESE) Stock Outpacing Its Business Services Peers This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Business Services stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Esco Technologies (ESE - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Esco Technologies is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 238 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 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. Esco Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ESE's full-year earnings has moved 6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, ESE has gained about 42.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have lost about 12.4% on average. As we can see, Esco Technologies is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Urgent.ly Inc. (ULYX - Free Report) is another Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 83.7%.

For Urgent.ly Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Esco Technologies belongs to the Technology Services industry, which includes 109 individual stocks and currently sits at #175 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 14.5% this year, meaning that ESE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Urgent.ly Inc. is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to Esco Technologies and Urgent.ly Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.

Zacks' 7 Best Strong Buy Stocks (New Research Report)

Valued at $99, click below to receive our just-released report predicting the 7 stocks that will soar highest in the coming month.

Click Here, It's Really Free

Published in