Are Retail-Wholesale Stocks Lagging Abercrombie & Fitch This Year?

For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Abercrombie & Fitch ANF been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Abercrombie & Fitch is a member of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group includes 213 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Abercrombie & Fitch is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ANF's full-year earnings has moved 15.9% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, ANF has moved about 47% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Retail-Wholesale group have gained about 10.7% on average. This shows that Abercrombie & Fitch is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Retail-Wholesale sector, Levi Strauss LEVI, has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 36.8%.

Over the past three months, Levi Strauss' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Abercrombie & Fitch belongs to the Retail - Apparel and Shoes industry, a group that includes 41 individual stocks and currently sits at #96 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12.2% this year, meaning that ANF is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Levi Strauss is also part of the same industry.

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

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