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Is EZCORP (EZPW) 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. Is Ezcorp (EZPW - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Ezcorp is a member of our Finance group, which includes 870 different companies and currently sits at #16 in 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Ezcorp is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EZPW's full-year earnings has moved 13.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, EZPW has moved about 6.1% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 2.6% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Ezcorp is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Franklin BSP (FBRT - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 8.1%.

The consensus estimate for Franklin BSP's current year EPS has increased 5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Ezcorp belongs to the Financial - Consumer Loans industry, a group that includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #79 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 17.8% this year, meaning that EZPW is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

Franklin BSP, however, belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust industry. Currently, this 34-stock industry is ranked #238. The industry has moved +1.2% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Ezcorp and Franklin BSP as they could maintain their solid performance.


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EZCORP, Inc. (EZPW) - free report >>

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