For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Banco Bilbao (BBVA) 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.
Banco Bilbao is one of 859 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 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 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. Banco Bilbao is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BBVA's full-year earnings has moved 10.4% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, BBVA has gained about 38.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 2.9% on average. This means that Banco Bilbao is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another stock in the Finance sector, Bank First Corporation (BFC), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 7.3%.
Over the past three months, Bank First Corporation's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Banco Bilbao belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry, a group that includes 66 individual stocks and currently sits at #19 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 8.9% so far this year, meaning that BBVA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Bank First Corporation, however, belongs to the Banks - Northeast industry. Currently, this 73-stock industry is ranked #53. The industry has moved -14.1% so far this year.
Banco Bilbao and Bank First 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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Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA): Free Stock Analysis Report Bank First National Corporation (BFC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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