For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Alerus (ALRS) one of those stocks right now? 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.
Alerus is one of 867 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Alerus is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALRS' full-year earnings has moved 7.7% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, ALRS has gained about 12.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 12.4% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Alerus is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Ally Financial (ALLY). The stock has returned 12.8% year-to-date.
In Ally Financial's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 3.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Alerus is a member of the Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry, which includes 103 individual companies and currently sits at #82 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 0.7% this year, meaning that ALRS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Ally Financial falls under the Financial - Consumer Loans industry. Currently, this industry has 14 stocks and is ranked #98. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +45.8%.
Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Alerus and Ally Financial as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Alerus Financial (ALRS): Free Stock Analysis Report Ally Financial Inc. (ALLY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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