For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has ACNB (ACNB) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
ACNB is one of 833 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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. ACNB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACNB's full-year earnings has moved 6% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Our latest available data shows that ACNB has returned about 8.8% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 0.2%. As we can see, ACNB is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Avidia Bancorp, Inc. (AVBC). The stock has returned 14.7% year-to-date.
In Avidia Bancorp, Inc.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, ACNB belongs to the Banks - Southwest industry, which includes 19 individual stocks and currently sits at #84 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 2.8% this year, meaning that ACNB is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Avidia Bancorp, Inc. falls under the Banks - Northeast industry. Currently, this industry has 69 stocks and is ranked #144. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +7.8%.
Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track ACNB and Avidia Bancorp, Inc.. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).