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Are Finance Stocks Lagging Axis Capital Holdings (AXS) 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. Is Axis Capital (AXS - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Axis Capital is a member of our Finance group, which includes 860 different companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Axis Capital is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXS' full-year earnings has moved 5.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AXS has moved about 44.3% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 17.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Axis Capital is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Mr Cooper (COOP - 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 44.1%.

Over the past three months, Mr Cooper's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Axis Capital is a member of the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, which includes 40 individual companies and currently sits at #26 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 31.7% this year, meaning that AXS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Mr Cooper falls under the Financial - Consumer Loans industry. Currently, this industry has 17 stocks and is ranked #73. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +15.9%.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Axis Capital and Mr Cooper. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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