Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has SLM (SLM Quick QuoteSLM - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

SLM is one of 840 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #5 within 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. SLM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SLM's full-year earnings has moved 36.08% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, SLM has moved about 33.56% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 1.15% on average. As we can see, SLM is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Breaking things down more, SLM is a member of the Financial - Consumer Loans industry, which includes 21 individual companies and currently sits at #153 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 0.43% this year, meaning that SLM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Finance sector will want to keep a close eye on SLM as it attempts to continue its solid performance.