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Is Ares Capital (ARCC) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Ares Capital (ARCC - Free Report) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? 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.

Ares Capital is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 850 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #11. 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. Ares Capital is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ARCC's full-year earnings has moved 1.1% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, ARCC has returned 5.7% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 5.3%. This shows that Ares Capital is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Erste Group Bank AG (EBKDY - 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 6.6%.

Over the past three months, Erste Group Bank AG's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Ares Capital belongs to the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, which includes 34 individual stocks and currently sits at #28 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 18.2% this year, meaning that ARCC is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

Erste Group Bank AG, however, belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry. Currently, this 64-stock industry is ranked #68. The industry has moved +11.7% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Ares Capital and Erste Group Bank AG as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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