Is Brighthouse Financial (BHF) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?

BHF

Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Brighthouse Financial (BHF - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Brighthouse Financial is a member of our Finance group, which includes 902 different companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Brighthouse Financial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BHF's full-year earnings has moved 17% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, BHF has gained about 40% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 21.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Brighthouse Financial is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Preferred Apartment Communities . The stock is up 94.9% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Preferred Apartment Communities' current year EPS has increased 8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Brighthouse Financial belongs to the Insurance - Life Insurance industry, a group that includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #94 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 3.2% so far this year, so BHF is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Preferred Apartment Communities belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Residential industry. This 24-stock industry is currently ranked #31. The industry has moved +45.8% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Brighthouse Financial and Preferred Apartment Communities. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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