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Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) 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 American Eagle Outfitters (AEO - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Retail-Wholesale peers, we might be able to answer that question.

American Eagle Outfitters is one of 215 companies in the Retail-Wholesale group. The Retail-Wholesale group currently sits at #9 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. American Eagle Outfitters is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEO's full-year earnings has moved 12.3% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that AEO has returned about 5.6% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Retail-Wholesale stocks have gained an average of 5.4%. This means that American Eagle Outfitters is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

PriceSmart (PSMT - Free Report) is another Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 6.1%.

Over the past three months, PriceSmart's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, American Eagle Outfitters belongs to the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry, a group that includes 42 individual companies and currently sits at #177 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 4.5% so far this year, so AEO is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, PriceSmart belongs to the Retail - Discount Stores industry. This 9-stock industry is currently ranked #56. The industry has moved +4.6% year to date.

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


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