ZACKSยท2025-08-01 14:40Group 1 - Popular (BPOP) is outperforming its peers in the Finance sector with a year-to-date return of 21.8%, compared to the sector average gain of 9% [4] - The Zacks Rank for Popular is 2 (Buy), indicating strong analyst sentiment and an improving earnings outlook, with a 2.8% increase in the full-year earnings estimate over the past quarter [3] - Popular is part of the Banks - Southeast industry, which has an average gain of 0.2% this year, further highlighting BPOP's strong performance within its industry [5] Group 2 - The Finance group includes 869 companies and is currently ranked 2 in the Zacks Sector Rank, reflecting the strength of the sector [2] - Another notable stock in the Finance sector is First Bancorp (FBP), which has returned 12.1% year-to-date and also holds a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy) [4] - The consensus EPS estimate for First Bancorp has increased by 4.4% over the past three months, indicating positive analyst sentiment similar to that of Popular [4]