Are business services stocks lagging this year?

Business Services Group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always look for companies that are outperforming their competitors. Is Gen Digital (GEN) currently one of these stocks? To find out, let’s take a closer look at the company’s stock performance year-to-date.

Gen Digital is one of 315 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #2 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find companies with better earnings prospects. This system has a long history of success and these stocks are on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Gen Digital is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GEN’s full-year earnings has moved 0.7%. This means that analyst sentiment is better and the company’s earnings prospects are improving.

According to the most recent data available, GEN is up about 9.1% this year. Meanwhile, the business services sector returned an average of 6.1% year-over-year. This means that Gen Digital is outperforming its sector in terms of annual returns.

Another business services company that has outperformed the sector this year is Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. (KD). Since the beginning of the year, the company’s shares have increased by 31.7%.

Over the last three months, the consensus EPS estimate for Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. for the current year increased by 22.5%. The stock is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

More specifically, Gen Digital belongs to the Technology Services industry, which includes 173 individual stocks and currently sits at #60 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 15.6% this year, meaning GEN is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date gains. Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. also belongs to the same industry.

Investors interested in business services stocks should continue to monitor Gen Digital and Kyndryl Holdings, Inc. The shares of these companies will want to maintain their good performance.

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