Investors interested in Business Services stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Accolade (ACCD) 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 Business Services sector should help us answer this question.

Accolade is one of 290 companies in the Business Services group. The Business Services group currently sits at #9 within 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. Accolade is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACCD's full-year earnings has moved 1.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, ACCD has gained about 103.2% so far this year. In comparison, Business Services companies have returned an average of 6.6%. As we can see, Accolade is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Casella (CWST) is another Business Services stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 7.5%.

In Casella's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 6.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Accolade belongs to the Technology Services industry, a group that includes 151 individual stocks and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 4.8% so far this year, meaning that ACCD is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Casella, however, belongs to the Waste Removal Services industry. Currently, this 19-stock industry is ranked #148. The industry has moved +10.8% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Business Services stocks should continue to pay close attention to Accolade and Casella as they could maintain their solid performance.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

Accolade, Inc. (ACCD) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (CWST) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

Zacks Investment Research