The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Amalgamated Financial (AMAL) 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.
Amalgamated Financial is a member of our Finance group, which includes 850 different companies and currently sits at #2 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 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. Amalgamated Financial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAL's full-year earnings has moved 4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Our latest available data shows that AMAL has returned about 24.7% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 0.8%. This means that Amalgamated Financial is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS). The stock has returned 3% year-to-date.
For Bank of Nova Scotia, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Amalgamated Financial is a member of the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, which includes 36 individual companies and currently sits at #146 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 7.5% this year, meaning that AMAL is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Bank of Nova Scotia belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry. This 65-stock industry is currently ranked #21. The industry has moved +8.1% year to date.
Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Amalgamated Financial and Bank of Nova Scotia. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Amalgamated Financial Corp. (AMAL): Free Stock Analysis Report Bank of Nova Scotia (The) (BNS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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