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Are Finance Stocks Lagging Bain Capital Specialty Finance (BCSF) This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Bain Capital Specialty (BCSF - 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.

Bain Capital Specialty is a member of our Finance group, which includes 859 different companies and currently sits at #8 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 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. Bain Capital Specialty is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCSF's full-year earnings has moved 3.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, BCSF has gained about 8.3% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 1.2%. This means that Bain Capital Specialty is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

AllianceBernstein (AB - 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 8%.

For AllianceBernstein, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Bain Capital Specialty is a member of the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, which includes 34 individual companies and currently sits at #89 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 5.8% so far this year, so BCSF is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, AllianceBernstein falls under the Financial - Investment Management industry. Currently, this industry has 38 stocks and is ranked #47. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +5.4%.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Bain Capital Specialty and AllianceBernstein as they could maintain their solid performance.


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AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) - free report >>

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