The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. MercadoLibre (MELI) 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.

MercadoLibre is a member of the Retail-Wholesale sector. This group includes 212 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. MercadoLibre is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MELI's full-year earnings has moved 4.6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, MELI has moved about 25.3% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Retail-Wholesale companies have returned an average of 4.9%. This shows that MercadoLibre is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Retail-Wholesale stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA). The stock has returned 20.4% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Walgreens Boots Alliance's current year EPS has increased 4.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, MercadoLibre is a member of the Internet - Commerce industry, which includes 37 individual companies and currently sits at #52 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.8% so far this year, so MELI is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Walgreens Boots Alliance falls under the Retail - Pharmacies and Drug Stores industry. Currently, this industry has 3 stocks and is ranked #3. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +20.7%.

Investors interested in the Retail-Wholesale sector may want to keep a close eye on MercadoLibre and Walgreens Boots Alliance as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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

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