For those looking to find strong Computer and Technology stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. ACI Worldwide (ACIW) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

ACI Worldwide is a member of the Computer and Technology sector. This group includes 608 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. 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. ACI Worldwide is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACIW's full-year earnings has moved 9.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, ACIW has moved about 0.9% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Computer and Technology companies have returned an average of -11%. As we can see, ACI Worldwide is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

IBM (IBM) is another Computer and Technology stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 5.7%.

For IBM, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, ACI Worldwide belongs to the Computer - Software industry, a group that includes 32 individual stocks and currently sits at #58 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 7.3% so far this year, meaning that ACIW is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, IBM belongs to the Computer - Integrated Systems industry. This 11-stock industry is currently ranked #160. The industry has moved -8.2% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Computer and Technology stocks should continue to track ACI Worldwide and IBM. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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

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