Yahoo Finance Is AutoZone (AZO) Outperforming Other Retail-Wholesale Stocks This Year?
For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. AutoZone (AZO) 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 Retail-Wholesale peers, we might be able to answer that question.
AutoZone is one of 221 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. AutoZone is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AZO's full-year earnings has moved 1.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that AZO has returned about 5.4% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Retail-Wholesale companies have returned an average of 4.6%. As we can see, AutoZone is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Build-A-Bear (BBW), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 6%.
For Build-A-Bear, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 7.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, AutoZone belongs to the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry, which includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #60 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 2% so far this year, so AZO is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Build-A-Bear, however, belongs to the Retail - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 21-stock industry is ranked #101. The industry has moved -8.6% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to pay close attention to AutoZone and Build-A-Bear as they could maintain their solid performance.
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AutoZone, Inc. (AZO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. (BBW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
