Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Alexander's (ALX) 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.
Alexander's is a member of our Finance group, which includes 851 different companies and currently sits at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Alexander's is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALX's full-year earnings has moved 3.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, ALX has gained about 9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 0.8% on average. As we can see, Alexander's is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS). The stock has returned 2.8% year-to-date.
For Northern Trust Corporation, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Alexander's belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, which includes 92 individual stocks and currently sits at #161 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 9.1% this year, meaning that ALX is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Northern Trust Corporation belongs to the Banks - Major Regional industry. This 9-stock industry is currently ranked #26. The industry has moved +2.8% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Alexander's and Northern Trust Corporation as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Alexander's, Inc. (ALX): Free Stock Analysis Report Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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