Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. CNO Financial (CNO) 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.

CNO Financial is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 867 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. CNO Financial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNO's full-year earnings has moved 2% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, CNO has returned 13.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 3.8% on a year-to-date basis. This means that CNO Financial is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

CME Group (CME) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 13.1%.

Over the past three months, CME Group's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, CNO Financial belongs to the Insurance - Multi line industry, a group that includes 41 individual companies and currently sits at #61 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7.6% so far this year, meaning that CNO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, CME Group belongs to the Securities and Exchanges industry. This 7-stock industry is currently ranked #33. The industry has moved +12.4% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track CNO Financial and CME Group. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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CNO Financial Group, Inc. (CNO) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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