Are Business Services Stocks Underperforming Corpay, Inc. (CPAY) This Year?

For those looking for strong business services stocks, it's wise to look for companies in the group that are performing better than their peers. Is Corpay (CPAY) one of these stocks right now? A quick look at the company's year-to-date performance compared to the rest of the business services sector should help us answer this question.

Corpay is a member of our Business Services group, which includes 312 different companies and currently sits at #5 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 prospects. Corpay currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPAY's full-year earnings rose 0.1% in the most recent quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive trend in earnings outlook.

Based on the latest data, CPAY has returned 18.9% so far this year. The shares of the business services group have now gained an average of around 14.9%. This shows that Corpay is performing better than its competitors so far this year.

Another business services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is ICF International (ICFI). The stock has returned 25.3% year-to-date.

In the case of ICF International, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year rose 4.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

More specifically, Corpay is a member of the Financial Transaction Services industry, which includes 43 individual companies and currently sits at #96 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 10.5% so far this year, so CPAY is performing better in this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, ICF International falls into the government services industry. This industry currently has 3 stocks and is in second place. The industry has gained +20.6% since the beginning of the year.

Investors interested in business services stocks should continue to monitor Corpay and ICF International. These stocks will look to continue their solid performance.

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