The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Akzo Nobel NV is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 238 different companies and currently sits at #7 in 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 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. Akzo Nobel NV is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AKZOY's full-year earnings has moved 8.8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that AKZOY has returned about 16.6% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 11.2%. This means that Akzo Nobel NV is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Compass Minerals (CMP). The stock has returned 94.4% year-to-date.
For Compass Minerals, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 25.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Akzo Nobel NV is a member of the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 29 individual companies and currently sits at #228 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 12.8% so far this year, meaning that AKZOY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Compass Minerals is also part of the same industry.
Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Akzo Nobel NV and Compass Minerals as they could maintain their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
