The Business Services group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Clean Harbors (CLH) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Clean Harbors is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 329 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Clean Harbors is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLH's full-year earnings has moved 42.2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, CLH has moved about 12.9% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Business Services companies have returned an average of -17.8%. This means that Clean Harbors is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Business Services sector, CRA International (CRAI), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 0.6%.

Over the past three months, CRA International's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Clean Harbors belongs to the Waste Removal Services industry, a group that includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 5.9% so far this year, meaning that CLH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

CRA International, however, belongs to the Consulting Services industry. Currently, this 15-stock industry is ranked #26. The industry has moved -20.3% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to Clean Harbors and CRA International as they could maintain their solid performance.

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