For those looking to find strong Business Services stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Bright Horizons Family Solutions (BFAM) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Business Services sector should help us answer this question.

Bright Horizons Family Solutions is a member of the Business Services sector. This group includes 270 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 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. Bright Horizons Family Solutions is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BFAM's full-year earnings has moved 2.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that BFAM has returned about 11.2% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Business Services companies have returned an average of 1.6%. This means that Bright Horizons Family Solutions is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Business Services sector, Mitie Group PLC. (MITFY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 42.4%.

Over the past three months, Mitie Group PLC.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Bright Horizons Family Solutions belongs to the Business - Services industry, which includes 26 individual stocks and currently sits at #51 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12.9% this year, meaning that BFAM is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Mitie Group PLC. is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Business Services sector may want to keep a close eye on Bright Horizons Family Solutions and Mitie Group PLC. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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Bright Horizons Family Solutions Inc. (BFAM):Free Stock Analysis Report

Mitie Group PLC. (MITFY):Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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