Is Axos Financial (AX) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?
Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Axos Financial (AX) 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.
Axos Financial is one of 867 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #11 within 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 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. Axos Financial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AX's full-year earnings has moved 3.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, AX has moved about 2.5% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 2.4% on average. This means that Axos Financial is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another stock in the Finance sector, Banco Bilbao (BBVA), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 12%.
In Banco Bilbao's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 12.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Axos Financial belongs to the Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry, which includes 54 individual stocks and currently sits at #151 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 2.8% so far this year, so AX is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Banco Bilbao, however, belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry. Currently, this 67-stock industry is ranked #18. The industry has moved -0.7% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Axos Financial and Banco Bilbao as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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AXOS FINANCIAL, INC (AX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria S.A. (BBVA) : Free Stock Analysis Report
