Is Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG) Outperforming Other Finance Stocks This Year?

AJG AUB

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 - 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.

Arthur J. Gallagher is one of 895 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Arthur J. Gallagher is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AJG's full-year earnings has moved 30.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that AJG has returned about 5.8% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 3.5% on average. This means that Arthur J. Gallagher is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Atlantic Union (AUB - Free Report) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 0.5%.

The consensus estimate for Atlantic Union's current year EPS has increased 5.6% 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 10 individual companies and currently sits at #53 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 2.5% so far this year, so AJG is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Atlantic Union, however, belongs to the Banks - Northeast industry. Currently, this 88-stock industry is ranked #30. The industry has moved -3.4% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Arthur J. Gallagher and Atlantic Union as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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