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Is Walmart (WMT) Outperforming Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Walmart (WMT - 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 Retail-Wholesale sector should help us answer this question.

Walmart is one of 213 companies in the Retail-Wholesale group. The Retail-Wholesale group currently sits at #10 within 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. Walmart is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for WMT's full-year earnings has moved 3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, WMT has returned 27.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Retail-Wholesale sector has returned an average of 11.9% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Walmart is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Hagerty, Inc. (HGTY - Free Report) . The stock is up 29% year-to-date.

In Hagerty, Inc.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 8.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Walmart belongs to the Retail - Supermarkets industry, a group that includes 9 individual companies and currently sits at #24 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 26.2% so far this year, so WMT is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Hagerty, Inc. falls under the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry. Currently, this industry has 5 stocks and is ranked #53. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +3.6%.

Investors with an interest in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to track Walmart and Hagerty, Inc. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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