Is AGNC Investment (AGNC) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?

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

AGNC Investment is one of 859 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #9 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. AGNC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AGNC’s full-year earnings has moved 2.52% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company’s earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, AGNC has returned 1.82% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 1.09% on average. This shows that AGNC Investment is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Looking more specifically, AGNC belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust industry, which includes 29 individual stocks and currently sits at #59 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 1.30% so far this year, so AGNC is performing better in this area.

AGNC will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.

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