Is Barrett Business Services (BBSI) Outperforming Other Business Services Stocks This Year?

The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Barrett Business Services (BBSI) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Barrett Business Services is one of 321 individual stocks in the Business Services sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #10 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 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. Barrett Business Services is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BBSI's full-year earnings has moved 18% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, BBSI has gained about 3.6% so far this year. In comparison, Business Services companies have returned an average of -25.6%. This means that Barrett Business Services 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 CBIZ (CBZ). The stock has returned 1.8% year-to-date.

For CBIZ, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Barrett Business Services belongs to the Outsourcing industry, which includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #69 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 14% this year, meaning that BBSI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, CBIZ falls under the Consulting Services industry. Currently, this industry has 15 stocks and is ranked #31. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -28.6%.

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

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