Are Finance Stocks Lagging Ares Capital (ARCC) 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. Is Ares Capital (ARCC) 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.
Ares Capital is a member of our Finance group, which includes 848 different companies and currently sits at #12 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. Ares Capital is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARCC's full-year earnings has moved 1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, ARCC has returned 1.8% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 0.3%. This shows that Ares Capital is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Avidbank Holdings Inc. (AVBH) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 1.5%.
For Avidbank Holdings Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Ares Capital belongs to the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, a group that includes 34 individual stocks and currently sits at #85 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 14% so far this year, so ARCC is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Avidbank Holdings Inc. however, belongs to the Banks - West industry. Currently, this 34-stock industry is ranked #94. The industry has moved -31.6% so far this year.
Ares Capital and Avidbank Holdings Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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