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Has Avis Budget Group (CAR) Outpaced 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. Avis Budget Group (CAR - 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 Business Services sector should help us answer this question.

Avis Budget Group is one of 320 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #12 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 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. Avis Budget Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAR's full-year earnings has moved 7.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that CAR has returned about 37.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have lost about 14.3% on average. This means that Avis Budget Group is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Paychex (PAYX - Free Report) is another Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 0.7%.

The consensus estimate for Paychex's current year EPS has increased 3.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Avis Budget Group is a member of the Business - Services industry, which includes 27 individual companies and currently sits at #220 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 24.9% so far this year, so CAR is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Paychex, however, belongs to the Outsourcing industry. Currently, this 14-stock industry is ranked #108. The industry has moved -6.3% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Avis Budget Group and Paychex as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) - free report >>

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