Are Finance Stocks Lagging Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) This Year?
The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Arthur J. Gallagher is one of 848 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #8 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
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. Arthur J. Gallagher is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AJG's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, AJG has moved about 27.7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 8.1% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Arthur J. Gallagher is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Finance sector, Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 33.4%.
For Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Arthur J. Gallagher is a member of the Insurance - Brokerage industry, which includes 8 individual companies and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 15.9% so far this year, meaning that AJG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. belongs to the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry. This 38-stock industry is currently ranked #42. The industry has moved +11.8% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Arthur J. Gallagher and Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. as they could maintain their solid performance.
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