For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Prospect Capital (PSEC Quick QuotePSEC - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Prospect Capital is one of 867 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 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 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. PSEC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PSEC's full-year earnings has moved 21.80% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, PSEC has returned 2.67% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 5.12% on average. This means that Prospect Capital is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, PSEC belongs to the Financial - Investment Management industry, which includes 52 individual stocks and currently sits at #100 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 19.04% so far this year, meaning that PSEC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to PSEC as it looks to continue its solid performance.