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Has AutoZone (AZO) Outpaced Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?

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The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is AutoZone (AZO - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

AutoZone is one of 220 companies in the Retail-Wholesale group. The Retail-Wholesale group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. AutoZone is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AZO's full-year earnings has moved 5.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that AZO has returned about 67.8% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Retail-Wholesale companies have returned an average of -6.2%. As we can see, AutoZone is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Genesco (GCO - Free Report) . The stock is up 115.1% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Genesco's current year EPS has increased 16.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, AutoZone is a member of the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry, which includes 4 individual companies and currently sits at #71 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 52.1% this year, meaning that AZO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Genesco falls under the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry. Currently, this industry has 39 stocks and is ranked #56. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -2.2%.

Investors interested in the Retail-Wholesale sector may want to keep a close eye on AutoZone and Genesco as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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