For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. 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 872 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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. Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IBKR's full-year earnings has moved 1.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, IBKR has returned 85.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 17.9% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Axis Capital (AXS). The stock is up 43.4% year-to-date.

For Axis Capital, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.9% 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 15 individual companies and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 27% so far this year, so IBKR is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Axis Capital belongs to the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry. This 40-stock industry is currently ranked #59. The industry has moved +23.4% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. and Axis Capital. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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