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Has Prog Holdings (PRG) Outpaced Other Finance Stocks 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. PROG Holdings (PRG - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

PROG Holdings is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 860 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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. PROG Holdings is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PRG's full-year earnings has moved 11.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, PRG has moved about 51.8% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 16.3%. This means that PROG Holdings is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG - 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 29.6%.

Over the past three months, Arthur J. Gallagher's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, PROG Holdings belongs to the Financial - Consumer Loans industry, which includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #154 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 14.8% this year, meaning that PRG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Arthur J. Gallagher falls under the Insurance - Brokerage industry. Currently, this industry has 9 stocks and is ranked #7. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +26.9%.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to PROG Holdings and Arthur J. Gallagher as they could maintain their solid performance.


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