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Is FirstCash (FCFS) 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. Has FirstCash Holdings (FCFS - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Business Services peers, we might be able to answer that question.

FirstCash Holdings is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 234 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. 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 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. FirstCash Holdings is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FCFS' full-year earnings has moved 5.8% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, FCFS has returned 37.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have lost about 10.9% on average. As we can see, FirstCash Holdings is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Green Dot (GDOT - Free Report) . The stock is up 1.1% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Green Dot's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 21.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, FirstCash Holdings belongs to the Financial Transaction Services industry, a group that includes 35 individual stocks and currently sits at #81 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 15.5% so far this year, so FCFS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Green Dot is also part of the same industry.

FirstCash Holdings and Green Dot 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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