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Are Finance Stocks Lagging BancFirst (BANF) This Year?

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Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is BancFirst (BANF - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

BancFirst is a member of our Finance group, which includes 885 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 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. BancFirst is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BANF's full-year earnings has moved 17.9% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, BANF has gained about 64.4% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -9.9%. As we can see, BancFirst is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Berkshire Hills Bancorp (BHLB - Free Report) . The stock has returned 4% year-to-date.

For Berkshire Hills Bancorp, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 13.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, BancFirst belongs to the Banks - Southwest industry, which includes 18 individual stocks and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7% so far this year, meaning that BANF is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Berkshire Hills Bancorp belongs to the Financial - Savings and Loan industry. This 32-stock industry is currently ranked #21. The industry has moved -5.6% year to date.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on BancFirst and Berkshire Hills Bancorp as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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