Is WellCare Health Plans (WCG) Stock Outpacing Its Medical Peers This Year?

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Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of WellCare Health Plans (WCG), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

WellCare Health Plans is one of 818 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. WCG is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WCG's full-year earnings has moved 5.73% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, WCG has gained about 53.04% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 4.10%. This shows that WellCare Health Plans is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Breaking things down more, WCG is a member of the Medical - HMOs industry, which includes 13 individual companies and currently sits at #54 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 20.02% this year, meaning that WCG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Medical stocks should continue to track WCG. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.


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