For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Aperam (APEMY) 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 Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.
Aperam is one of 254 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 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 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. Aperam is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APEMY's full-year earnings has moved 12.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the most recent data, APEMY has returned 21.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 20.9% on average. This shows that Aperam is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Albemarle (ALB). The stock has returned 21.1% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Albemarle's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1356.3%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Aperam belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 19 individual companies and currently sits at #72 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12.3% this year, meaning that APEMY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Albemarle falls under the Chemical - Diversified industry. Currently, this industry has 29 stocks and is ranked #191. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +23.3%.
Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Aperam and Albemarle as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Albemarle Corporation (ALB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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.
