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Is First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI) 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. Has First Guaranty Bancshares (FGBI - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

First Guaranty Bancshares is one of 889 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. First Guaranty Bancshares is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FGBI's full-year earnings has moved 6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that FGBI has returned about 24.2% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Finance stocks have lost an average of 17.1%. This means that First Guaranty Bancshares is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Globe Life (GL - Free Report) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 7.2%.

The consensus estimate for Globe Life's current year EPS has increased 0.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, First Guaranty Bancshares is a member of the Banks - Southeast industry, which includes 64 individual companies and currently sits at #33 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 13.1% this year, meaning that FGBI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Globe Life belongs to the Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry. This 52-stock industry is currently ranked #202. The industry has moved -19% year to date.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on First Guaranty Bancshares and Globe Life as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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First Guaranty Bancshares, Inc. (FGBI) - free report >>

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