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 LyondellBasell (LYB) 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.
LyondellBasell is one of 248 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. LyondellBasell is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LYB's full-year earnings has moved 210.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Our latest available data shows that LYB has returned about 44.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 17.2% on average. This means that LyondellBasell is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA (USNZY). The stock has returned 85.5% year-to-date.
For Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 172.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, LyondellBasell belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 29 individual stocks and currently sits at #86 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 23.7% this year, meaning that LYB is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA, however, belongs to the Steel - Producers industry. Currently, this 17-stock industry is ranked #40. The industry has moved +44.2% so far this year.
LyondellBasell and Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA 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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See Stocks Now >>LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (LYB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais SA (USNZY) : 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.
