Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Arthur J. Gallagher is one of 871 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #1 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Arthur J. Gallagher is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AJG's full-year earnings has moved 2.9% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, AJG has moved about 8.9% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 3.9% on average. As we can see, Arthur J. Gallagher is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Bank of America (BAC) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 5.1%.

The consensus estimate for Bank of America's current year EPS has increased 1.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Arthur J. Gallagher belongs to the Insurance - Brokerage industry, a group that includes 9 individual companies and currently sits at #70 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 4.6% this year, meaning that AJG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Bank of America falls under the Financial - Investment Bank industry. Currently, this industry has 21 stocks and is ranked #2. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +10.5%.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Arthur J. Gallagher and Bank of America as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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