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Has Equity Commonwealth (EQC) Outpaced Other Finance Stocks 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 Equity Commonwealth (EQC - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Equity Commonwealth is a member of our Finance group, which includes 883 different companies and currently sits at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Equity Commonwealth is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EQC's full-year earnings has moved 700% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, EQC has moved about 4.1% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -15.5%. This means that Equity Commonwealth is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Amalgamated Financial (AMAL - Free Report) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 38.7%.

The consensus estimate for Amalgamated Financial's current year EPS has increased 5.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Equity Commonwealth is a member of the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, which includes 103 individual companies and currently sits at #70 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 21.5% so far this year, so EQC is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Amalgamated Financial falls under the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry. Currently, this industry has 37 stocks and is ranked #16. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -7.5%.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Equity Commonwealth and Amalgamated Financial as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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