Investors interested in Finance stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. First Bancorp (FBP) 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.
First Bancorp is one of 856 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #6 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. First Bancorp is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FBP's full-year earnings has moved 5.6% higher. 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 12.3% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have gained an average of 7.8%. This means that First Bancorp is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another Finance stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is AIA (AAGIY). The stock has returned 26.9% year-to-date.
For AIA, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, First Bancorp belongs to the Banks - Southeast industry, a group that includes 53 individual companies and currently sits at #96 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 0.7% this year, meaning that FBP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, AIA belongs to the Insurance - Life Insurance industry. This 16-stock industry is currently ranked #88. The industry has moved +3.8% year to date.
First Bancorp and AIA could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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First BanCorp. (FBP): Free Stock Analysis Report AIA (AAGIY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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