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Is BancFirst (BANF) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is BancFirst (BANF - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

BancFirst is one of 886 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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. BancFirst is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BANF's full-year earnings has moved 4.3% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, BANF has returned 44.5% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have lost an average of 11.5%. This means that BancFirst is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Bank OZK (OZK - 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 0%.

For Bank OZK, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, BancFirst belongs to the Banks - Southwest industry, a group that includes 19 individual stocks and currently sits at #54 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 5.3% so far this year, so BANF is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Bank OZK falls under the Banks - Northeast industry. Currently, this industry has 88 stocks and is ranked #27. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -10.9%.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track BancFirst and Bank OZK. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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