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Are Finance Stocks Lagging AllianceBernstein (AB) This Year?

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The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. AllianceBernstein (AB - 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.

AllianceBernstein is one of 861 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. AllianceBernstein is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AB's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, AB has gained about 14.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 11.9% on average. As we can see, AllianceBernstein is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM - 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 22.3%.

For JPMorgan Chase & Co. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, AllianceBernstein belongs to the Financial - Investment Management industry, a group that includes 38 individual stocks and currently sits at #148 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 14.4% so far this year, so AB is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

On the other hand, JPMorgan Chase & Co. belongs to the Banks - Major Regional industry. This 15-stock industry is currently ranked #20. The industry has moved +18.2% year to date.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on AllianceBernstein and JPMorgan Chase & Co. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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