The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has AGNC Investment (AGNC) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
AGNC Investment is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 835 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. AGNC Investment is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGNC's full-year earnings has moved 3% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, AGNC has moved about 3.4% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of -0.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that AGNC Investment is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is ACNB (ACNB). The stock is up 7.9% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, ACNB's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, AGNC Investment belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust industry, which includes 27 individual stocks and currently sits at #164 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.8% this year, meaning that AGNC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
ACNB, however, belongs to the Banks - Southwest industry. Currently, this 19-stock industry is ranked #30. The industry has moved +7.1% so far this year.
Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track AGNC Investment and ACNB. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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AGNC Investment Corp. (AGNC): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).