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Has Amalgamated Financial (AMAL) Outpaced Other Finance Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Amalgamated Financial (AMAL - Free Report) 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.

Amalgamated Financial is one of 884 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Amalgamated Financial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAL's full-year earnings has moved 5.6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, AMAL has returned 32.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of -14.1% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Amalgamated Financial is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Equity Commonwealth (EQC - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 1.8%.

In Equity Commonwealth's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 700% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Amalgamated Financial belongs to the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, which includes 37 individual stocks and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 6.1% this year, meaning that AMAL is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Equity Commonwealth, however, belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry. Currently, this 103-stock industry is ranked #74. The industry has moved -17.9% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Amalgamated Financial and Equity Commonwealth as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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