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Is Aflac (AFL) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?
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The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Aflac (AFL - 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.
Aflac is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 903 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 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. Aflac is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AFL's full-year earnings has moved 5.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, AFL has gained about 27.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 22.3% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Aflac is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (ATLC - Free Report) . The stock has returned 139.9% year-to-date.
For Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 15.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Aflac belongs to the Insurance - Accident and Health industry, which includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #118 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 28.3% so far this year, so AFL is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Atlanticus Holdings Corporation falls under the Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry. Currently, this industry has 51 stocks and is ranked #105. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +20.8%.
Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Aflac and Atlanticus Holdings Corporation as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Is Aflac (AFL) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?
The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Aflac (AFL - 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.
Aflac is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 903 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 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. Aflac is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AFL's full-year earnings has moved 5.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, AFL has gained about 27.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 22.3% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Aflac is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Atlanticus Holdings Corporation (ATLC - Free Report) . The stock has returned 139.9% year-to-date.
For Atlanticus Holdings Corporation, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 15.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Aflac belongs to the Insurance - Accident and Health industry, which includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #118 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 28.3% so far this year, so AFL is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Atlanticus Holdings Corporation falls under the Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry. Currently, this industry has 51 stocks and is ranked #105. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +20.8%.
Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Aflac and Atlanticus Holdings Corporation as they could maintain their solid performance.