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

Palomar is one of 854 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #12 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 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. Palomar is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PLMR's full-year earnings has moved 9.8% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, PLMR has gained about 53.5% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 3.2%. As we can see, Palomar is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Commonwealth Bank of Australia Sponsored ADR (CMWAY). The stock is up 7% year-to-date.

In Commonwealth Bank of Australia Sponsored ADR's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Palomar is a member of the Insurance - Property and Casualty industry, which includes 40 individual companies and currently sits at #34 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 14.7% so far this year, so PLMR is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Commonwealth Bank of Australia Sponsored ADR falls under the Banks - Foreign industry. Currently, this industry has 66 stocks and is ranked #52. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +6.5%.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to Palomar and Commonwealth Bank of Australia Sponsored ADR as they could maintain their solid performance.

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