For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Alpha Metallurgical (AMR) one of those stocks right now? 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.
Alpha Metallurgical is one of 238 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
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. Alpha Metallurgical is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMR's full-year earnings has moved 44.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
According to our latest data, AMR has moved about 14.4% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 4.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Alpha Metallurgical is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Piedmont Lithium Inc. (PLL). The stock is up 45.3% year-to-date.
For Piedmont Lithium Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Alpha Metallurgical belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 49 individual stocks and currently sits at #97 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 0.1% so far this year, so AMR is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Piedmont Lithium Inc. is also part of the same industry.
Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Alpha Metallurgical and Piedmont Lithium Inc. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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