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Are Finance Stocks Lagging Assurant (AIZ) 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. Assurant (AIZ - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Assurant is one of 857 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 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 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. Assurant is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIZ's full-year earnings has moved 6.1% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, AIZ has gained about 5.9% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 3.3%. This means that Assurant is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Amerisafe (AMSF - 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 8.5%.

For Amerisafe, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Assurant belongs to the Insurance - Multi line industry, a group that includes 36 individual stocks and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 5.8% so far this year, meaning that AIZ is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Amerisafe, however, belongs to the Insurance - Accident and Health industry. Currently, this 5-stock industry is ranked #1. The industry has moved -0.1% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Assurant and Amerisafe as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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