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Is Preferred Apartment Communities (APTS) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers 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. Preferred Apartment Communities 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.

Preferred Apartment Communities is a member of our Finance group, which includes 896 different companies and currently sits at #5 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 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. Preferred Apartment Communities is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for APTS' full-year earnings has moved 1.9% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, APTS has moved about 38% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of -3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Preferred Apartment Communities is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Aon (AON - Free Report) . The stock is up 11% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Aon's current year EPS has increased 1.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Preferred Apartment Communities is a member of the REIT and Equity Trust - Residential industry, which includes 26 individual companies and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 4% so far this year, meaning that APTS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Aon belongs to the Insurance - Brokerage industry. This 10-stock industry is currently ranked #95. The industry has moved +3.8% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Preferred Apartment Communities and Aon as they could maintain their solid performance.


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