For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Main Street Capital (MAIN) 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 Finance peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Main Street Capital is one of 869 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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. Main Street Capital is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MAIN's full-year earnings has moved 3.3% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, MAIN has gained about 13.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 12.9% on average. As we can see, Main Street Capital is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Axos Financial (AX). The stock is up 30.6% year-to-date.
In Axos Financial's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Main Street Capital belongs to the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, a group that includes 37 individual stocks and currently sits at #201 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 4.7% so far this year, so MAIN is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Axos Financial belongs to the Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry. This 93-stock industry is currently ranked #44. The industry has moved +5.4% year to date.
Main Street Capital and Axos Financial could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Main Street Capital Corporation (MAIN): Free Stock Analysis Report AXOS FINANCIAL, INC (AX): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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