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Is Assurant (AIZ) 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. Is Assurant (AIZ - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Assurant is one of 873 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #6 within 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. Assurant is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIZ's full-year earnings has moved 4.8% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, AIZ has gained about 18.6% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 8.6%. This means that Assurant is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Hamilton Insurance (HG - Free Report) . The stock has returned 27.6% year-to-date.

For Hamilton Insurance, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 19.1% 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, which includes 46 individual stocks and currently sits at #87 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 5.4% this year, meaning that AIZ is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Hamilton Insurance is also part of the same industry.

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

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