Are Finance Stocks Lagging American Healthcare REIT, Inc. (AHR) 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. Is American Healthcare REIT (AHR) 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.

American Healthcare REIT is a member of our Finance group, which includes 863 different companies and currently sits 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 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. American Healthcare REIT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AHR's full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, AHR has moved about 78.7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 15% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that American Healthcare REIT is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Axis Capital (AXS). The stock has returned 15.4% year-to-date.

For Axis Capital, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, American Healthcare REIT is a member of the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, which includes 97 individual companies and currently sits at #95 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 6.7% so far this year, meaning that AHR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Axis Capital, however, belongs to the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry. Currently, this 41-stock industry is ranked #24. The industry has moved +12% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track American Healthcare REIT and Axis Capital. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

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

Zacks Investment Research