The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Carpenter Technology (CRS) 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.
Carpenter Technology is one of 240 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials 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. Carpenter Technology is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS' full-year earnings has moved 9.2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, CRS has returned 58.7% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 0.8%. This shows that Carpenter Technology is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Harmony Gold (HMY) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 51.7%.
Over the past three months, Harmony Gold's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 41.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Carpenter Technology belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry, which includes 6 individual stocks and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 35% so far this year, so CRS is performing better in this area.
On the other hand, Harmony Gold belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. This 39-stock industry is currently ranked #16. The industry has moved +16.2% year to date.
Carpenter Technology and Harmony Gold could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
