Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging Five Below (FIVE) This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Five Below (FIVE - 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 Retail-Wholesale sector should help us answer this question.

Five Below is a member of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group includes 186 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Five Below is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FIVE's full-year earnings has moved 23.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, FIVE has returned 16.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Retail-Wholesale group have gained about 4.4% on average. As we can see, Five Below is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Herbalife Ltd (HLF - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 29.3%.

The consensus estimate for Herbalife Ltd's current year EPS has increased 7.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Five Below is a member of the Retail - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 13 individual companies and currently sits at #149 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 4.4% this year, meaning that FIVE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Herbalife Ltd, however, belongs to the Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry. Currently, this 1-stock industry is ranked #8.

Five Below and Herbalife Ltd could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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