Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Macro Bank (BMA) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Banco Macro (BMA - 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.

Banco Macro is one of 850 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #12 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. Banco Macro is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMA's full-year earnings has moved 112.4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, BMA has moved about 26.8% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 4.5% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Banco Macro is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Franklin BSP (FBRT - Free Report) . The stock has returned 5.2% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Franklin BSP's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Banco Macro belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry, which includes 64 individual stocks and currently sits at #55 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 11.6% this year, meaning that BMA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Franklin BSP falls under the REIT and Equity Trust industry. Currently, this industry has 32 stocks and is ranked #184. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +3%.

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


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Macro Bank Inc. (BMA) - free report >>

Franklin BSP Realty Trust, Inc. (FBRT) - free report >>

Published in