Has Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE) Outpaced Other Finance Stocks 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. Is Apple Hospitality REIT (APLE) one of those stocks right now? 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.Apple Hospitality REIT is one of 833 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #4 within 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. Apple Hospitality REIT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APLE's full-year earnings has moved 4.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.According to our latest data, APLE has moved about 16.4% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of -0.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Apple Hospitality REIT is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.Another stock in the Finance sector, ASX Limited - Unsponsored ADR (ASXFY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 21.6%.Over the past three months, ASX Limited - Unsponsored ADR's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 30.3%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Looking more specifically, Apple Hospitality REIT belongs to the REIT and Equity Trust - Other industry, which includes 90 individual stocks and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 11.3% so far this year, so APLE is performing better in this area. On the other hand, ASX Limited - Unsponsored ADR belongs to the Securities and Exchanges industry. This 8-stock industry is currently ranked #64. The industry has moved -8.3% year to date.Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Apple Hospitality REIT and ASX Limited - Unsponsored ADR as they could maintain their solid performance.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.9% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks