Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Affiliated Managers Group (AMG) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Affiliated Managers Group is one of 869 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #1 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Affiliated Managers Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMG’s full-year earnings has moved 5.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company’s earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that AMG has returned about 13.7% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 10.9%. This shows that Affiliated Managers Group is outperforming its peers so far this year.

AllianceBernstein (AB) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 12.6%.

For AllianceBernstein, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Affiliated Managers Group is a member of the Financial – Investment Management industry, which includes 36 individual companies and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 0.5% so far this year, meaning that AMG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. AllianceBernstein is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Affiliated Managers Group and AllianceBernstein as they could maintain their solid performance.

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Affiliated Managers Group, Inc. (AMG) : Free Stock Analysis Report

AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (AB) : Free Stock Analysis Report