Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is California BanCorp (BCAL) 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.
California BanCorp is one of 831 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #5 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. California BanCorp is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCAL's full-year earnings has moved 2.4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, BCAL has moved about 10.4% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 3.2%. This means that California BanCorp is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Finance sector, First BanCorp (FBP), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 27.5%.
For First BanCorp, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, California BanCorp belongs to the Banks - Southwest industry, a group that includes 19 individual companies and currently sits at #167 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 10.9% this year, meaning that BCAL is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, First BanCorp belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry. This 66-stock industry is currently ranked #93. The industry has moved +10% year to date.
Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on California BanCorp and First BanCorp as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).