For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Goldman Sachs (GS) been one of those stocks this year? 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.
Goldman Sachs is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 866 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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 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. Goldman Sachs is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GS' full-year earnings has moved 5.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, GS has moved about 40.6% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 14.8%. As we can see, Goldman Sachs is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Finance sector, Citizens Financial Group (CFG), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 22.4%.
The consensus estimate for Citizens Financial Group's current year EPS has increased 1.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Goldman Sachs belongs to the Financial - Investment Bank industry, a group that includes 21 individual companies and currently sits at #16 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 30.4% this year, meaning that GS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Citizens Financial Group, however, belongs to the Banks - Northeast industry. Currently, this 76-stock industry is ranked #41. The industry has moved +8.4% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Goldman Sachs and Citizens Financial Group as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (GS): Free Stock Analysis Report Citizens Financial Group, Inc. (CFG): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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