Is Cabot (CBT) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group 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? 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.

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 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics 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 0.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, CBT has gained about 11.1% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 9.2%. As we can see, Cabot is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Carpenter Technology (CRS), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 18.3%.

The consensus estimate for Carpenter Technology's current year EPS has increased 3.8% 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 #203 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 14.5% so far this year, so CBT is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

In contrast, Carpenter Technology falls under the Steel - Speciality industry. Currently, this industry has 6 stocks and is ranked #31. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +18.6%.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Cabot and Carpenter Technology. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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