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Are Business Services Stocks Lagging CBIZ (CBZ) 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. Is CBIZ (CBZ - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

CBIZ is one of 246 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #8 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. CBIZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CBZ's full-year earnings has moved 0.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that CBZ has returned about 9.5% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Business Services stocks have lost an average of 7.6%. As we can see, CBIZ 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 Kforce (KFRC - Free Report) . The stock is up 83.7% year-to-date.

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

Breaking things down more, CBIZ is a member of the Consulting Services industry, which includes 13 individual companies and currently sits at #90 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 21.7% this year, meaning that CBZ is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Kforce belongs to the Staffing Firms industry. This 12-stock industry is currently ranked #90. The industry has moved +45.2% year to date.

CBIZ and Kforce 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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