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Is American International Group (AIG) Outperforming Other Finance Stocks 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. American International Group (AIG - 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? 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.

American International Group is a member of our Finance group, which includes 871 different companies and currently sits at #11 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. American International Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIG's full-year earnings has moved 0.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, AIG has gained about 1.9% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -8.3%. This means that American International Group is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Aegon NV (AEG - Free Report) . The stock has returned 9.7% year-to-date.

For Aegon NV, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, American International Group belongs to the Insurance - Multi line industry, a group that includes 34 individual companies and currently sits at #24 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 3.6% so far this year, meaning that AIG is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Aegon NV is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to American International Group and Aegon NV as they could maintain their solid performance.


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