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Are Finance Stocks Lagging Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) This Year?

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Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Berkshire Hathaway B (BRK.B - Free Report) 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.

Berkshire Hathaway B is one of 887 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Berkshire Hathaway B is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BRK.B's full-year earnings has moved 15.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, BRK.B has returned 0.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 14.7% on average. As we can see, Berkshire Hathaway B is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Amerisafe (AMSF - 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 9%.

Over the past three months, Amerisafe's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Berkshire Hathaway B is a member of the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, which includes 40 individual companies and currently sits at #157 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 2.2% so far this year, meaning that BRK.B is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Amerisafe belongs to the Insurance - Accident and Health industry. This 5-stock industry is currently ranked #28. The industry has moved +12.6% year to date.

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


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