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Are Business Services Stocks Lagging Seagate Technology (STX) 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. Seagate (STX - 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? 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.

Seagate is a member of our Business Services group, which includes 315 different companies and currently sits at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Seagate is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for STX's full-year earnings has moved 24.1% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, STX has gained about 25% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have gained about 6.5% on average. This means that Seagate is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Business Services sector, Trane Technologies (TT - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 39.7%.

The consensus estimate for Trane Technologies' current year EPS has increased 2.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Seagate belongs to the Technology Services industry, a group that includes 170 individual stocks and currently sits at #92 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 24.1% so far this year, so STX is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Trane Technologies is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Seagate and Trane Technologies as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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