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Is Legg Mason (LM) Outperforming Other Finance Stocks 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. Legg Mason 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.

Legg Mason is a member of our Finance group, which includes 843 different companies and currently sits at #9 in 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. LM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LM's full-year earnings has moved 2.97% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, LM has returned 10.05% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 1.92% on average. This means that Legg Mason is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, LM belongs to the Financial - Investment Management industry, which includes 48 individual stocks and currently sits at #19 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 4.23% this year, meaning that LM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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

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