Are Finance Stocks Lagging Axa (AXAHY) This Year?

The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Axa Sa (AXAHY) 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.

Axa Sa is one of 862 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. Axa Sa is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXAHY's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that AXAHY has returned about 36% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 17.5% on average. This means that Axa Sa is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Credicorp (BAP). The stock is up 58.2% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Credicorp's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Axa Sa belongs to the Insurance - Multi line industry, which includes 45 individual stocks and currently sits at #37 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 10.9% this year, meaning that AXAHY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Credicorp belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry. This 67-stock industry is currently ranked #73. The industry has moved +55.2% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Axa Sa and Credicorp. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research

Source Zacks-com