Is Axa (AXAHY) Outperforming 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 Axa Sa (AXAHY) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Axa Sa is a member of our Finance group, which includes 856 different companies and currently sits at #5 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Axa Sa is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXAHY's full-year earnings has moved 2.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AXAHY has moved about 12% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 5.8% on average. This means that Axa Sa is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Ezcorp (EZPW). The stock has returned 21.3% year-to-date.

For Ezcorp, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Axa Sa belongs to the Insurance - Multi line industry, a group that includes 36 individual companies and currently sits at #34 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 7.2% so far this year, so AXAHY is performing better in this area.

Ezcorp, however, belongs to the Financial - Consumer Loans industry. Currently, this 17-stock industry is ranked #207. The industry has moved +5.7% so far this year.

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

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