For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Gladstone Commercial (GOOD) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Gladstone Commercial is one of 871 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #1 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Gladstone Commercial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GOOD's full-year earnings has moved 3.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, GOOD has gained about 27.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 24.4% on average. This shows that Gladstone Commercial is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is BancFirst (BANF). The stock is up 30.8% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, BancFirst's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Gladstone Commercial belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, a group that includes 96 individual companies and currently sits at #78 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 2.3% so far this year, so GOOD is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

BancFirst, however, belongs to the Banks - Southwest industry. Currently, this 19-stock industry is ranked #14. The industry has moved +28.3% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Gladstone Commercial and BancFirst as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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