The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Franklin Resources (BEN) been one of those stocks this year? 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.
Franklin Resources is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 881 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #4. 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. Franklin Resources is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BEN's full-year earnings has moved 7.5% 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, BEN has gained about 40.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 4.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Franklin Resources is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. (BOW). The stock is up 11.1% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Franklin Resources belongs to the Financial - Investment Management industry, a group that includes 37 individual companies and currently sits at #181 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 14.6% so far this year, so BEN is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. falls under the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry. Currently, this industry has 44 stocks and is ranked #150. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +1.4%.
Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Franklin Resources and Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc.. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Franklin Resources, Inc. (BEN): Free Stock Analysis Report
Bowhead Specialty Holdings Inc. (BOW): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).