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Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging Costco Wholesale (COST) This Year?

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The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Costco (COST - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Retail-Wholesale sector should help us answer this question.

Costco is one of 212 companies in the Retail-Wholesale group. The Retail-Wholesale group currently sits at #12 within 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Costco is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for COST's full-year earnings has moved 0.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, COST has returned 34.7% so far this year. At the same time, Retail-Wholesale stocks have gained an average of 22%. This means that Costco is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Carvana (CVNA - Free Report) is another Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 263.2%.

In Carvana's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 138.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Costco belongs to the Retail - Discount Stores industry, which includes 9 individual stocks and currently sits at #163 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 19.1% this year, meaning that COST is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Carvana, however, belongs to the Internet - Commerce industry. Currently, this 39-stock industry is ranked #55. The industry has moved +27.1% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Retail-Wholesale sector may want to keep a close eye on Costco and Carvana as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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