Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Medical Properties Trust (MPW Quick QuoteMPW - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Medical Properties Trust is a member of our Finance group, which includes 839 different companies and currently sits at #5 in 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 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. MPW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MPW's full-year earnings has moved 4.16% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, MPW has gained about 5.40% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 9.95% on average. This shows that Medical Properties Trust is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Breaking things down more, MPW is a member of the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, which includes 117 individual companies and currently sits at #163 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 1% so far this year, so MPW is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Finance sector will want to keep a close eye on MPW as it attempts to continue its solid performance.