The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Bankinter SA (BKNIY) 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.

Bankinter SA is a member of our Finance group, which includes 859 different companies and currently sits at #2 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. Bankinter SA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BKNIY's full-year earnings has moved 2.3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that BKNIY has returned about 36.3% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 15.3%. This means that Bankinter SA is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

CaixaBank, S.A. Unsponsored ADR (CAIXY) is another Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 42.7%.

Over the past three months, CaixaBank, S.A. Unsponsored ADR's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 12%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Bankinter SA belongs to the Banks - Foreign industry, a group that includes 66 individual companies and currently sits at #31 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12.6% this year, meaning that BKNIY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. CaixaBank, S.A. Unsponsored ADR is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on Bankinter SA and CaixaBank, S.A. Unsponsored ADR as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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