The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Century Aluminum (CENX) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Industrial Products sector should help us answer this question.
Century Aluminum is one of 181 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #8 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 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. Century Aluminum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CENX's full-year earnings has moved 53.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, CENX has returned 52.6% so far this year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 14.7%. This means that Century Aluminum is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Kennametal (KMT). The stock has returned 29.4% year-to-date.
In Kennametal's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 51.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Century Aluminum belongs to the Metal Products - Procurement and Fabrication industry, a group that includes 6 individual companies and currently sits at #173 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 13.8% so far this year, so CENX is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Kennametal belongs to the Manufacturing - Tools & Related Products industry. This 8-stock industry is currently ranked #52. The industry has moved +2.9% year to date.
Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track Century Aluminum and Kennametal. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Century Aluminum Company (CENX): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).