The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? 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.

Abercrombie & Fitch is a member of our Retail-Wholesale group, which includes 213 different companies and currently sits at #13 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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 #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ANF's full-year earnings has moved 10.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, ANF has gained about 65.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Retail-Wholesale group have gained about 21.3% on average. This shows that Abercrombie & Fitch is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Chewy (CHWY). The stock is up 22.8% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Chewy's current year EPS has increased 43.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (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 #99 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 14.4% so far this year, so ANF is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Chewy, however, belongs to the Internet - Commerce industry. Currently, this 39-stock industry is ranked #79. The industry has moved +25.9% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to track Abercrombie & Fitch and Chewy. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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