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Is Gartner (IT) 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. Is Gartner (IT - 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.

Gartner is one of 277 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Gartner is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IT's full-year earnings has moved 11.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, IT has moved about 107.8% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of -24% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Gartner is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Korn/Ferry (KFY - Free Report) . The stock is up 74% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Korn/Ferry's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 13.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Gartner belongs to the Consulting Services industry, a group that includes 15 individual companies and currently sits at #27 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 59.8% so far this year, meaning that IT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Korn/Ferry belongs to the Staffing Firms industry. This 16-stock industry is currently ranked #28. The industry has moved +48.1% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to Gartner and Korn/Ferry as they could maintain their solid performance.


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