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Are Finance Stocks Lagging Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) 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. Affiliated Managers Group (AMG - 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.

Affiliated Managers Group is one of 873 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #8 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. Affiliated Managers Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMG's full-year earnings has moved 5.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, AMG has returned 26.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 6.1% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Affiliated Managers Group is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Bank of China Ltd. (BACHY - Free Report) . The stock is up 34.8% year-to-date.

For Bank of China Ltd., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Affiliated Managers Group belongs to the Financial - Investment Management industry, a group that includes 37 individual stocks and currently sits at #168 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 8.7% so far this year, so AMG is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Bank of China Ltd. falls under the Banks - Foreign industry. Currently, this industry has 85 stocks and is ranked #62. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +19.1%.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Affiliated Managers Group and Bank of China Ltd. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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