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Is First BanCorp. (FBP) Stock Outpacing Its Finance Peers This Year?

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The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is First Bancorp (FBP - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

First Bancorp is a member of our Finance group, which includes 885 different companies and currently sits at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. First Bancorp is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FBP's full-year earnings has moved 1.3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, FBP has moved about 10.6% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have lost about 12.1% on average. This means that First Bancorp is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Finance stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Columbia Banking (COLB - Free Report) . The stock is up 5.2% year-to-date.

For Columbia Banking, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, First Bancorp belongs to the Banks - Southeast industry, a group that includes 63 individual companies and currently sits at #25 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 1% so far this year, so FBP is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Columbia Banking belongs to the Banks - West industry. This 34-stock industry is currently ranked #28. The industry has moved -29.7% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to First Bancorp and Columbia Banking as they could maintain their solid performance.


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Columbia Banking System, Inc. (COLB) - free report >>

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