Are Finance Stocks Lagging AMERISAFE (AMSF) This Year?
For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Amerisafe (AMSF) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Amerisafe is one of 856 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
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. Amerisafe is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMSF's full-year earnings has moved 7.6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, AMSF has gained about 11.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 6% on average. This means that Amerisafe is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Assurant (AIZ) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 7.5%.
Over the past three months, Assurant's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Amerisafe is a member of the Insurance - Accident and Health industry, which includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 3.2% so far this year, so AMSF is performing better in this area.
Assurant, however, belongs to the Insurance - Multi line industry. Currently, this 36-stock industry is ranked #35. The industry has moved +9.1% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Amerisafe and Assurant as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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