Has Amalgamated Financial (AMAL) Outpaced Other Finance Stocks This Year?

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

Amalgamated Financial is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 904 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Amalgamated Financial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMAL's full-year earnings has moved 5.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, AMAL has gained about 25.2% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 20.1%. This shows that Amalgamated Financial is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 22.3%.

For Bank of Nova Scotia, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Amalgamated Financial belongs to the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, a group that includes 34 individual stocks and currently sits at #100 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 33.1% so far this year, so AMAL is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Bank of Nova Scotia falls under the Banks - Foreign industry. Currently, this industry has 66 stocks and is ranked #86. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +11.9%.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Amalgamated Financial and Bank of Nova Scotia as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
Amalgamated Financial Corp. (AMAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
Bank of Nova Scotia The (BNS) : Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research