The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Cabot (CBT) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Cabot is one of 294 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #13 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Cabot is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CBT's full-year earnings has moved 1.1% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
According to our latest data, CBT has moved about 16.1% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 9.8% on average. As we can see, Cabot is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Carpenter Technology (CRS). The stock has returned 23.4% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Carpenter Technology's current year EPS has increased 7.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Cabot is a member of the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 32 individual companies and currently sits at #109 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 8.1% this year, meaning that CBT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Carpenter Technology, however, belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry. Currently, this 6-stock industry is ranked #191. The industry has moved +20.2% so far this year.
Cabot and Carpenter Technology 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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Cabot Corporation (CBT): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).