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Is Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH) Outperforming Other Business Services Stocks This Year?

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The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Booz Allen Hamilton is one of 244 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #7 within 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Booz Allen Hamilton is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAH's full-year earnings has moved 5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, BAH has returned 4.3% so far this year. In comparison, Business Services companies have returned an average of -8.8%. As we can see, Booz Allen Hamilton is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Coherent (COHR - Free Report) . The stock has returned 8.3% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Coherent's current year EPS has increased 14.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Booz Allen Hamilton belongs to the Consulting Services industry, a group that includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #49 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 5.9% this year, meaning that BAH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Coherent, however, belongs to the Technology Services industry. Currently, this 123-stock industry is ranked #96. The industry has moved -26.5% so far this year.

Booz Allen Hamilton and Coherent 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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