Are Finance Stocks Lagging Credicorp (BAP) This Year?

For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Credicorp (BAP) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Credicorp is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 831 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. 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 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. Credicorp is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAP's full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that BAP has returned about 21.8% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 1.2%. This means that Credicorp is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

American Tower (AMT) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 8.7%.

For American Tower, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Credicorp is a member of the Banks - Foreign industry, which includes 66 individual companies and currently sits at #107 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 5.6% so far this year, so BAP is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, American Tower falls under the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry. Currently, this industry has 90 stocks and is ranked #98. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +13.3%.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Credicorp and American Tower. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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