Is Ares Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) Outperforming Other Finance Stocks This Year?

The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Ares Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) 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.

Ares Commercial Real Estate is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 847 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 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. Ares Commercial Real Estate is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACRE's full-year earnings has moved 92.2% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ACRE has returned about 0.8% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -6%. This shows that Ares Commercial Real Estate is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 0.3%.

For Apple Hospitality REIT, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Ares Commercial Real Estate belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust industry, a group that includes 31 individual stocks and currently sits at #212 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 5.3% this year, meaning that ACRE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Apple Hospitality REIT, however, belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry. Currently, this 91-stock industry is ranked #150. The industry has moved +1.8% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track Ares Commercial Real Estate and Apple Hospitality REIT. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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

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