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Is American National Bankshares (AMNB) Outperforming Other Finance Stocks 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. American National Bankshares 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.

American National Bankshares 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 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. American National Bankshares is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMNB's full-year earnings has moved 4.3% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, AMNB has returned 45.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 21.6% on average. This means that American National Bankshares is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Jefferies (JEF - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 53.8%.

The consensus estimate for Jefferies' current year EPS has increased 27.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, American National Bankshares belongs to the Banks - Southeast industry, a group that includes 64 individual companies and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 36.1% this year, meaning that AMNB is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Jefferies belongs to the Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry. This 51-stock industry is currently ranked #93. The industry has moved +17.5% year to date.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on American National Bankshares and Jefferies as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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