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Has Southern First Bancshares (SFST) Outpaced Other Finance Stocks This Year?

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Investors focused on the Finance space have likely heard of Southern First Bancshares (SFST - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.

Southern First Bancshares is one of 829 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 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. SFST is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SFST's full-year earnings has moved 2.64% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, SFST has returned 13.94% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -2.47%. This means that Southern First Bancshares is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

To break things down more, SFST belongs to the Banks - Southeast industry, a group that includes 64 individual companies and currently sits at #44 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 10.84% so far this year, so SFST is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track SFST. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.


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