Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. AIA (AAGIY) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
AIA is one of 855 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. AIA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AAGIY's full-year earnings has moved 1% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, AAGIY has returned 12.1% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 1.7%. This shows that AIA is outperforming its peers so far this year.
One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Bank of Montreal (BMO). The stock is up 6.7% year-to-date.
For Bank of Montreal, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, AIA belongs to the Insurance - Life Insurance industry, a group that includes 16 individual companies and currently sits at #28 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 3.1% so far this year, meaning that AAGIY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Bank of Montreal, however, belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry. Currently, this 66-stock industry is ranked #42. The industry has moved +8.1% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to AIA and Bank of Montreal as they could maintain their solid performance.
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AIA (AAGIY): Free Stock Analysis Report Bank Of Montreal (BMO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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