Is Barclays (BCS) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?

For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Barclays (BCS) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.

Barclays is one of 868 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Barclays is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCS' full-year earnings has moved 2.6% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that BCS has returned about 55% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 13.8% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Barclays is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. (BNL), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 15.7%.

For Broadstone Net Lease, Inc., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Barclays is a member of the Banks - Foreign industry, which includes 67 individual companies and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 39% so far this year, meaning that BCS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Broadstone Net Lease, Inc., however, belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Residential industry. Currently, this 23-stock industry is ranked #153. The industry has moved -9.9% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Barclays and Broadstone Net Lease, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.

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

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