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Is Evoqua Water (AQUA) 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. Evoqua Water 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? 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.

Evoqua Water is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 320 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. 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 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. Evoqua Water is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AQUA's full-year earnings has moved 13.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that AQUA has returned about 1.3% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have lost about 9.8% on average. This means that Evoqua Water 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 DCC (DCCPF - Free Report) . The stock is up 6% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, DCC's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Evoqua Water belongs to the Technology Services industry, a group that includes 169 individual stocks and currently sits at #175 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 19.8% so far this year, so AQUA is performing better in this area.

In contrast, DCC falls under the Business - Services industry. Currently, this industry has 27 stocks and is ranked #234. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -18.6%.

Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to Evoqua Water and DCC as they could maintain their solid performance.


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