The Computer and Technology group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Microsoft (MSFT) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock’s year-to-date performance in comparison to its Computer and Technology peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Microsoft is a member of our Computer and Technology group, which includes 615 different companies and currently sits at #7 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 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. MSFT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MSFT’s full-year earnings has moved 5.52% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, MSFT has moved about 37.29% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Computer and Technology sector has returned an average of 31.52% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Microsoft is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Breaking things down more, MSFT is a member of the Computer – Software industry, which includes 41 individual companies and currently sits at #196 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 32.23% this year, meaning that MSFT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Going forward, investors interested in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to pay close attention to MSFT as it looks to continue its solid performance.
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