Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Barclays (BCS) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Barclays is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 857 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. Barclays is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCS' full-year earnings has moved 11.5% 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 BCS has returned about 32.7% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 3.8% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Barclays is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Finance sector, BTCS Inc. (BTCS), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 22.7%.

The consensus estimate for BTCS Inc.'s current year EPS has increased 337.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Barclays is a member of the Banks - Foreign industry, which includes 66 individual companies and currently sits at #18 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 21.5% this year, meaning that BCS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, BTCS Inc. falls under the Financial - Miscellaneous Services industry. Currently, this industry has 88 stocks and is ranked #137. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -5.9%.

Barclays and BTCS Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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Barclays PLC (BCS):Free Stock Analysis Report

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BTCS Inc. (BTCS):Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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