雅虎香港財經 Are Finance Stocks Lagging Macro Bank (BMA) This Year?
Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Banco Macro (BMA) 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.
Banco Macro is a member of our Finance group, which includes 854 different companies and currently sits at #10 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
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. Banco Macro is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BMA's full-year earnings has moved 114.3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the most recent data, BMA has returned 98.5% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 3%. As we can see, Banco Macro is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
First Bancorp (FBP) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 7.4%.
For First Bancorp, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Banco Macro is a member of the Banks - Foreign industry, which includes 66 individual companies and currently sits at #64 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 5.8% so far this year, so BMA is performing better in this area.
First Bancorp, however, belongs to the Banks - Southeast industry. Currently, this 55-stock industry is ranked #139. The industry has moved -1.8% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Banco Macro and First Bancorp as they could maintain their solid performance.
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