Are Finance Stocks Lagging Bank of America (BAC) This Year?
Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Bank of America (BAC) 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.
Bank of America is one of 856 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #12 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. Bank of America is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAC's full-year earnings has moved 3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that BAC has returned about 12.4% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 2.6% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Bank of America is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Banco Macro (BMA) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 121%.
The consensus estimate for Banco Macro's current year EPS has increased 114.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Bank of America is a member of the Banks - Major Regional industry, which includes 15 individual companies and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12.2% this year, meaning that BAC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Banco Macro belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry. This 67-stock industry is currently ranked #147. The industry has moved +5.6% year to date.
Bank of America and Banco Macro could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Bank of America Corporation (BAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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