For those looking to find strong Retail-Wholesale stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Cheesecake Factory (CAKE) 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Retail-Wholesale sector should help us answer this question.

Cheesecake Factory is a member of our Retail-Wholesale group, which includes 214 different companies and currently sits at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Cheesecake Factory is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAKE's full-year earnings has moved 1.9% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that CAKE has returned about 3.6% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Retail-Wholesale stocks have gained an average of 0.5%. As we can see, Cheesecake Factory is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Retail-Wholesale stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Brinker International (EAT). The stock is up 6.9% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Brinker International's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 50.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Cheesecake Factory is a member of the Retail - Restaurants industry, which includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #77 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 5.4% this year, meaning that CAKE is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Brinker International is also part of the same industry.

Investors with an interest in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to track Cheesecake Factory and Brinker International. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated (CAKE) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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