For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Morgan Stanley (MS) 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.

Morgan Stanley is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 871 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 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. Morgan Stanley is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MS' full-year earnings has moved 4.2% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, MS has returned 43.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 27% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Morgan Stanley is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Banc of California (BANC), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 32.3%.

In Banc of California's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 14.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Morgan Stanley belongs to the Financial - Investment Bank industry, which includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #50 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 47.2% so far this year, meaning that MS is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Banc of California falls under the Banks - Southwest industry. Currently, this industry has 19 stocks and is ranked #29. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +34.1%.

Morgan Stanley and Banc of California could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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