Is Axa (AXAHY) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?

Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Axa Sa (AXAHY) 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? 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.Axa Sa is one of 857 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 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 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. Axa Sa is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXAHY's full-year earnings has moved 4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.According to our latest data, AXAHY has moved about 36.7% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 5.8%. This means that Axa Sa is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.Another stock in the Finance sector, Bridgewater (BWB), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 7.7%.Over the past three months, Bridgewater's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 11.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Breaking things down more, Axa Sa is a member of the Insurance - Multi line industry, which includes 41 individual companies and currently sits at #81 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 3.9% this year, meaning that AXAHY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.Bridgewater, however, belongs to the Banks - Northeast industry. Currently, this 73-stock industry is ranked #72. The industry has moved -8.1% so far this year.Axa Sa and Bridgewater could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is among the most innovative financial firms. With a fast-growing customer base (already 50+ million) and a diverse set of cutting edge solutions, this stock is poised for big gains. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Axa Sa (AXAHY): Free Stock Analysis Report Bridgewater Bancshares, Inc. (BWB): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks