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

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Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is First Bancorp (FBP - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

First Bancorp is a member of our Finance group, which includes 870 different companies and currently sits at #1 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. First Bancorp is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FBP's full-year earnings has moved 3.9% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, FBP has gained about 4.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that First Bancorp is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Colony Bankcorp (CBAN - Free Report) . The stock has returned 4.7% year-to-date.

For Colony Bankcorp, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, First Bancorp is a member of the Banks - Southeast industry, which includes 53 individual companies and currently sits at #21 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 0.2% so far this year, so FBP is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Colony Bankcorp is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Finance sector may want to keep a close eye on First Bancorp and Colony Bankcorp as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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