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Are Business Services Stocks Lagging Arq, Inc. (ARQ) 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. Arq, Inc. (ARQ - 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.

Arq, Inc. is one of 316 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in 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. Arq, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARQ's full-year earnings has moved 41.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, ARQ has gained about 109.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Business Services sector has returned an average of 5.2% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Arq, Inc. is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is GigaCloud Technology Inc. (GCT - Free Report) . The stock has returned 67.3% year-to-date.

In GigaCloud Technology Inc.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 45.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Arq, Inc. belongs to the Waste Removal Services industry, a group that includes 19 individual stocks and currently sits at #141 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 12% so far this year, so ARQ is performing better in this area.

GigaCloud Technology Inc. however, belongs to the Technology Services industry. Currently, this 173-stock industry is ranked #57. The industry has moved +15.2% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to Arq, Inc. and GigaCloud Technology Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.


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