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Are Finance Stocks Lagging Amalgamated Financial (AMAL) This Year?

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Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Amalgamated Financial (AMAL - Free Report) 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? 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.

Amalgamated Financial is a member of our Finance group, which includes 886 different companies and currently sits at #2 in 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. Amalgamated Financial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAL's full-year earnings has moved 3% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AMAL has moved about 41.7% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -14.3%. This means that Amalgamated Financial is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB - Free Report) . The stock has returned 2.3% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Bar Harbor Bankshares' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Amalgamated Financial belongs to the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, which includes 36 individual stocks and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 7.7% this year, meaning that AMAL is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Bar Harbor Bankshares falls under the Banks - Northeast industry. Currently, this industry has 88 stocks and is ranked #33. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -13%.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Amalgamated Financial and Bar Harbor Bankshares as they could maintain their solid performance.


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Bar Harbor Bankshares, Inc. (BHB) - free report >>

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