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Are Finance Stocks Lagging Bank First National (BFC) This Year?

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The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Bank First Corporation (BFC - Free Report) 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.

Bank First Corporation 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Bank First Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BFC's full-year earnings has moved 3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, BFC has gained about 5.1% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -11.8%. As we can see, Bank First Corporation is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE - Free Report) . The stock is up 1.3% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Apple Hospitality REIT's current year EPS has increased 4.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Bank First Corporation belongs to the Banks - Northeast industry, a group that includes 90 individual stocks and currently sits at #16 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 13.7% so far this year, so BFC is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Apple Hospitality REIT belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry. This 104-stock industry is currently ranked #79. The industry has moved -13.5% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Bank First Corporation and Apple Hospitality REIT as they could maintain their solid performance.


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