Is FIRST BANCORP (FBP) Outperforming Other Finance Stocks This Year?

For those looking to find strong Finance stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is First BanCorp (FBP) 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 one of 831 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #8 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.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).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FBP's full-year earnings has moved 3.4% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.Based on the most recent data, FBP has returned 18.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 0.6% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that First BanCorp is outperforming its peers so far this year.Another stock in the Finance sector, Byline Bancorp (BY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 16.3%.For Byline Bancorp, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.1% 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 - Foreign industry, a group that includes 66 individual companies and currently sits at #109 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 5% so far this year, so FBP is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Byline Bancorp, however, belongs to the Banks - Northeast industry. Currently, this 69-stock industry is ranked #113. The industry has moved +12.3% so far this year.Investors with an interest in Finance stocks should continue to track First BanCorp and Byline Bancorp. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks