Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Methanex (MEOH) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Methanex is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 279 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #14. 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 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. Methanex is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MEOH's full-year earnings has moved 5.2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that MEOH has returned about 50.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 11.7% on average. This shows that Methanex is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Materion (MTRN), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 110.7%.
For Materion, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Methanex belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, a group that includes 31 individual stocks and currently sits at #165 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 10% this year, meaning that MEOH is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Materion falls under the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 89 stocks and is ranked #189. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +18.5%.
Methanex and Materion 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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Methanex Corporation (MEOH): Free Stock Analysis Report
Materion Corporation (MTRN): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).