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Are Finance Stocks Lagging Arch Capital Group (ACGL) 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. Arch Capital Group (ACGL - 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? 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.

Arch Capital Group is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 890 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Arch Capital Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACGL's full-year earnings has moved 4.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, ACGL has returned 6.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 3.5% on average. This shows that Arch Capital Group is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Amalgamated Financial (AMAL - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 58.9%.

Over the past three months, Amalgamated Financial's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Arch Capital Group belongs to the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, which includes 46 individual stocks and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 8.3% so far this year, so ACGL is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

Amalgamated Financial, however, belongs to the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry. Currently, this 37-stock industry is ranked #57. The industry has moved -17% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Arch Capital Group and Amalgamated Financial as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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