Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (IBKR) 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? 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.

Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. is one of 870 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #1 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IBKR'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 IBKR has returned about 21.5% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 4.3%. This means that Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

The Bank of East Asia Ltd. (BKEAY) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 12.4%.

In The Bank of East Asia Ltd.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. is a member of the Financial - Investment Bank industry, which includes 21 individual companies and currently sits at #3 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7.5% so far this year, meaning that IBKR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, The Bank of East Asia Ltd. falls under the Banks - Foreign industry. Currently, this industry has 68 stocks and is ranked #164. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +7.5%.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. and The Bank of East Asia Ltd. as they could maintain their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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