Yahoo Finance Are Finance Stocks Lagging Assured Guaranty (AGO) This Year?
Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Assured Guaranty (AGO) 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.
Assured Guaranty is one of 854 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #12 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. Assured Guaranty is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGO's full-year earnings has moved 7.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, AGO has returned 4.5% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 4%. As we can see, Assured Guaranty is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Finance sector, Bank of America (BAC), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 18.4%.
The consensus estimate for Bank of America's current year EPS has increased 3.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Assured Guaranty belongs to the Insurance - Multi line industry, which includes 38 individual stocks and currently sits at #89 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 10.5% so far this year, so AGO is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Bank of America, however, belongs to the Banks - Major Regional industry. Currently, this 15-stock industry is ranked #48. The industry has moved +14.8% so far this year.
Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Assured Guaranty and Bank of America. These stocks will be looking 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
Assured Guaranty Ltd. (AGO) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Bank of America Corporation (BAC) : Free Stock Analysis Report
