Investors focused on the Finance space have likely heard of Hancock Whitney (HWC Quick QuoteHWC - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of HWC and the rest of the Finance group's stocks.

Hancock Whitney is one of 829 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #11 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. HWC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWC's full-year earnings has moved 0.49% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, HWC has returned 2.32% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -2.59%. This means that Hancock Whitney is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, HWC belongs to the Banks - Southeast industry, which includes 64 individual stocks and currently sits at #45 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 10.56% so far this year, so HWC is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to HWC as it looks to continue its solid performance.