For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Barclays (BCS) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Barclays is one of 859 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #5 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. Barclays is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCS' full-year earnings has moved 6.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, BCS has moved about 10.8% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -2.9%. As we can see, Barclays is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Progressive (PGR). The stock is up 10.8% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Progressive's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 11.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Barclays is a member of the Banks - Foreign industry, which includes 66 individual companies and currently sits at #20 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 8.9% this year, meaning that BCS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Progressive, however, belongs to the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry. Currently, this 43-stock industry is ranked #45. The industry has moved +12.1% so far this year.

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

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

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