Has Amalgamated Financial (AMAL) Outpaced Other Finance Stocks This Year?
Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Amalgamated Financial (AMAL) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.
Amalgamated Financial is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 894 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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 #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAL's full-year earnings has moved 15.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
According to our latest data, AMAL has moved about 14.6% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Finance stocks have lost an average of 14.4%. As we can see, Amalgamated Financial is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
BancFirst (BANF) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 15.9%.
For BancFirst, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 19.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Amalgamated Financial belongs to the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, which includes 36 individual stocks and currently sits at #100 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 10.6% so far this year, meaning that AMAL is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
BancFirst, however, belongs to the Banks - Southwest industry. Currently, this 18-stock industry is ranked #45. The industry has moved -6.3% so far this year.
Amalgamated Financial and BancFirst could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Amalgamated Financial Corp. (AMAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
BancFirst Corporation (BANF) : Free Stock Analysis Report
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Zacks Investment Research
