Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) This Year?

Investors interested in Retail-Wholesale stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Retail-Wholesale peers, we might be able to answer that question.

American Eagle Outfitters is a member of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group includes 226 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. 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. American Eagle Outfitters is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEO's full-year earnings has moved 19.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that AEO has returned about 14.7% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Retail-Wholesale stocks have gained an average of 11.1%. This shows that American Eagle Outfitters is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 33.2%.

The consensus estimate for Abercrombie & Fitch's current year EPS has increased 20.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, American Eagle Outfitters belongs to the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry, which includes 45 individual stocks and currently sits at #107 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 20.6% this year, meaning that AEO is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Abercrombie & Fitch is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Retail-Wholesale sector may want to keep a close eye on American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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