Are Finance Stocks Lagging Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE) This Year?

For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Apple Hospitality REIT is one of 873 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #5 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Apple Hospitality REIT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APLE's full-year earnings has moved 4.8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, APLE has moved about 34.6% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 7.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Apple Hospitality REIT is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Digital Realty Trust (DLR), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 20%.

For Digital Realty Trust, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Apple Hospitality REIT belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, a group that includes 90 individual companies and currently sits at #88 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 11.2% so far this year, so APLE is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Digital Realty Trust is also part of the same industry.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Apple Hospitality REIT and Digital Realty Trust. 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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