The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Northern Trust Corporation (NTRS) been one of those stocks this year? 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.
Northern Trust Corporation is a member of our Finance group, which includes 837 different companies and currently sits at #5 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Northern Trust Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NTRS’ full-year earnings has moved 6.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock’s earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that NTRS has returned about 3.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of -5.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Northern Trust Corporation is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Finance sector, BCB Bancorp (BCBP), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock’s year-to-date return is 13%.
Over the past three months, BCB Bancorp’s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 13.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Northern Trust Corporation belongs to the Banks – Major Regional industry, a group that includes 9 individual stocks and currently sits at #59 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 0.2% so far this year, so NTRS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, BCB Bancorp belongs to the Banks – Northeast industry. This 70-stock industry is currently ranked #64. The industry has moved +5.5% year to date.
Northern Trust Corporation and BCB Bancorp could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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