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

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For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Corpay (CPAY - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison 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 outlooks. Corpay is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPAY's full-year earnings has moved 0.1% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, CPAY has returned 18.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Business Services group have gained about 14.9% on average. This shows that Corpay is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Business Services stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is ICF International (ICFI - Free Report) . The stock has returned 25.3% year-to-date.

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

Breaking things down more, 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 this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, ICF International falls under the Government Services industry. Currently, this industry has 3 stocks and is ranked #2. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +20.6%.

Investors with an interest in Business Services stocks should continue to track Corpay and ICF International. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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