Are Finance Stocks Lagging Credicorp (BAP) 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. Credicorp (BAP) 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? 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.

Credicorp is one of 864 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #1 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. Credicorp is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAP's full-year earnings has moved 7.6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, BAP has gained about 39.6% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 14.3%. This means that Credicorp is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Finance sector, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (BK), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 45%.

Over the past three months, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Credicorp is a member of the Banks - Foreign industry, which includes 67 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 45.5% this year, meaning that BAP is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation falls under the Banks - Major Regional industry. Currently, this industry has 10 stocks and is ranked #39. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +12%.

Credicorp and The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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

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