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Is Esquire Financial (ESQ) 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 Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. (ESQ - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Finance peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. is one of 884 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #3 within 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 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. Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ESQ's full-year earnings has moved 9.2% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, ESQ has moved about 16.2% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 15.2% on average. As we can see, Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is First Bancorp (FBP - Free Report) . The stock is up 3% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, First Bancorp's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 7.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. is a member of the Banks - Northeast industry, which includes 90 individual companies and currently sits at #16 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 16.9% so far this year, so ESQ is performing better in this area.

In contrast, First Bancorp falls under the Banks - Southeast industry. Currently, this industry has 64 stocks and is ranked #37. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -7.1%.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Esquire Financial Holdings, Inc. and First Bancorp as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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