The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Annaly Capital Management (NLY) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Annaly Capital Management is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 859 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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. Annaly Capital Management is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NLY's full-year earnings has moved 6.2% 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, NLY has gained about 7.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 1.4% on average. As we can see, Annaly Capital Management is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Amerisafe (AMSF). The stock is up 3% year-to-date.

For Amerisafe, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Annaly Capital Management belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust industry, which includes 33 individual stocks and currently sits at #209 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 0.5% this year, meaning that NLY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Amerisafe belongs to the Insurance - Accident and Health industry. This 5-stock industry is currently ranked #38. The industry has moved +7% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Annaly Capital Management and Amerisafe. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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

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