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Has AllianceBernstein (AB) Outpaced Other Finance Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has AllianceBernstein (AB - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

AllianceBernstein is one of 899 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit 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. AllianceBernstein is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AB's full-year earnings has moved 6.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, AB has returned 0.6% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -0.3%. As we can see, AllianceBernstein is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Assurant (AIZ - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 3.9%.

In Assurant's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 0.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, AllianceBernstein belongs to the Financial - Investment Management industry, a group that includes 45 individual companies and currently sits at #84 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 12.6% so far this year, meaning that AB is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Assurant belongs to the Insurance - Multi line industry. This 33-stock industry is currently ranked #189. The industry has moved +3.7% year to date.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on AllianceBernstein and Assurant as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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Assurant, Inc. (AIZ) - free report >>

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