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Is Allegiance Bancshares (ABTX) Outperforming Other Finance Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Allegiance Bancshares one of those stocks right now? 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.

Allegiance Bancshares is one of 894 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 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. Allegiance Bancshares is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABTX's full-year earnings has moved 2.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, ABTX has gained about 5.5% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -6.8%. As we can see, Allegiance Bancshares is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, BCB Bancorp (BCBP - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 16%.

In BCB Bancorp's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 7.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Allegiance Bancshares belongs to the Banks - Southeast industry, which includes 66 individual stocks and currently sits at #41 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 2.9% so far this year, so ABTX is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, BCB Bancorp belongs to the Banks - Northeast industry. This 89-stock industry is currently ranked #37. The industry has moved -2.7% year to date.

Allegiance Bancshares and BCB Bancorp could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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