Has Aercap (AER) Outpaced Other Finance Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is AerCap (AER) 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.

AerCap is one of 848 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #13 within 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 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. AerCap is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AER's full-year earnings has moved 10.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, AER has moved about 2.4% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 0.8%. As we can see, AerCap is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Aflac (AFL), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 8.1%.

Over the past three months, Aflac's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, AerCap belongs to the Financial - Leasing Companies industry, a group that includes 3 individual stocks and currently sits at #16 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 3.1% so far this year, so AER is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

Aflac, however, belongs to the Insurance - Accident and Health industry. Currently, this 5-stock industry is ranked #13. The industry has moved +8.2% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on AerCap and Aflac as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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