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Has Costco Wholesale (COST) Outpaced Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Costco Wholesale (COST - 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.

Costco Wholesale is one of 224 companies in the Retail-Wholesale group. The Retail-Wholesale group currently sits at #3 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. COST is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for COST's full-year earnings has moved 1.26% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that COST has returned about 48.55% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Retail-Wholesale group have gained about 23.25% on average. This means that Costco Wholesale is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Breaking things down more, COST is a member of the Retail - Discount Stores industry, which includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #51 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 44.01% so far this year, so COST is performing better in this area.

Investors in the Retail-Wholesale sector will want to keep a close eye on COST as it attempts to continue its solid performance.


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