Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has EPR Properties (EPR) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
EPR Properties is one of 833 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. EPR Properties is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EPR's full-year earnings has moved 2.6% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the most recent data, EPR has returned 16.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 0.3% on average. This shows that EPR Properties is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Ameris Bancorp (ABCB). The stock has returned 16.5% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Ameris Bancorp's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, EPR Properties is a member of the REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry, which includes 19 individual companies and currently sits at #66 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 17.8% this year, meaning that EPR is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Ameris Bancorp falls under the Banks - Southeast industry. Currently, this industry has 53 stocks and is ranked #57. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +4.8%.
Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on EPR Properties and Ameris Bancorp as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).