The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. BancFirst (BANF) 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.
BancFirst is a member of our Finance group, which includes 833 different companies and currently sits at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. BancFirst is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BANF's full-year earnings has moved 3.4% 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, BANF has moved about 1.7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of -0.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that BancFirst is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Finance sector, Bar Harbor Bankshares (BHB), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 10.2%.
In Bar Harbor Bankshares' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, BancFirst belongs to the Banks - Southwest industry, a group that includes 19 individual companies and currently sits at #74 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 3.3% this year, meaning that BANF is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Bar Harbor Bankshares belongs to the Banks - Northeast industry. This 69-stock industry is currently ranked #92. The industry has moved +7.9% year to date.
BancFirst and Bar Harbor Bankshares could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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BancFirst Corporation (BANF): Free Stock Analysis Report
Bar Harbor Bankshares, Inc. (BHB): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).