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Are Finance Stocks Lagging Alerus Financial (ALRS) 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 Alerus (ALRS - 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.

Alerus is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 877 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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. Alerus is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALRS' full-year earnings has moved 2.8% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that ALRS has returned about 48.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 8.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Alerus is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Avidia Bancorp, Inc. (AVBC - Free Report) . The stock is up 27.6% year-to-date.

In Avidia Bancorp, Inc.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 9.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Alerus is a member of the Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry, which includes 115 individual companies and currently sits at #151 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 8.8% so far this year, meaning that ALRS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Avidia Bancorp, Inc., however, belongs to the Banks - Northeast industry. Currently, this 67-stock industry is ranked #52. The industry has moved +25.4% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Alerus and Avidia Bancorp, Inc. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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