The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Arthur J. Gallagher is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 870 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 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. Arthur J. Gallagher is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AJG's full-year earnings has moved 2.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, AJG has gained about 14.5% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 5.5%. This shows that Arthur J. Gallagher is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Citigroup (C). The stock is up 15.6% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Citigroup's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong 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 #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 8.7% this year, meaning that AJG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Citigroup belongs to the Financial - Investment Bank industry. This 21-stock industry is currently ranked #3. The industry has moved +10.3% year to date.

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

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