The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Amalgamated Financial (AMAL) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Amalgamated Financial is one of 871 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #1 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 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. Amalgamated Financial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAL's full-year earnings has moved 4.9% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, AMAL has gained about 5.3% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 4.9%. This means that Amalgamated Financial is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is FS KKR Capital (FSK). The stock has returned 6.4% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for FS KKR Capital's current year EPS has increased 0.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Amalgamated Financial is a member of the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, which includes 37 individual companies and currently sits at #58 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 3.9% this year, meaning that AMAL is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. FS KKR Capital is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Amalgamated Financial and FS KKR Capital as they could maintain their solid performance.

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