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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. Has Allegiance Bancshares been one of those stocks this year? 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 886 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #3 within 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 #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABTX's full-year earnings has moved 24% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, ABTX has returned 2.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of -13% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Allegiance Bancshares is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR - 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 2.8%.

For Cullen/Frost Bankers, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Allegiance Bancshares is a member of the Banks - Southeast industry, which includes 64 individual companies and currently sits at #16 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 5.8% so far this year, meaning that ABTX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Cullen/Frost Bankers, however, belongs to the Banks - Southwest industry. Currently, this 18-stock industry is ranked #36. The industry has moved +2.2% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Allegiance Bancshares and Cullen/Frost Bankers as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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