For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is AllianceBernstein (AB) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.
AllianceBernstein is one of 871 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
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. AllianceBernstein is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AB's full-year earnings has moved 3.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, AB has gained about 21.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 21.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that AllianceBernstein 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 Banco Comercial Portugues S.A. Unsponsored ADR (BPCGY). The stock has returned 25.9% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Banco Comercial Portugues S.A. Unsponsored ADR's current year EPS has increased 13.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, AllianceBernstein belongs to the Financial - Investment Management industry, a group that includes 37 individual companies and currently sits at #44 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 31.3% so far this year, so AB is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.
Banco Comercial Portugues S.A. Unsponsored ADR, however, belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry. Currently, this 65-stock industry is ranked #31. The industry has moved +11.7% so far this year.
AllianceBernstein and Banco Comercial Portugues S.A. Unsponsored ADR could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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