Rockwood Holdings (ROC)

It took a solid second-quarter report, but Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (ROC - Snapshot Report) was able to finish a very tough Tuesday session as one of the top performing Zacks #1 Ranks.

Only a handful of companies were able to keep their heads above water today, and ROC was the best of the best with a 3.26% gain. Volume was near 2 million shares today, compared to the daily average of around 950,000.

Rockwood Holdings is a leading global specialty chemicals and advanced materials company. It focuses on niche segments of the specialty chemicals, pigments and additives, and advanced materials markets.

The chemical-specialty industry is rather well-represented on the Zacks #1 Rank List with 6 names in total. The other 5 companies besides ROC include H.B. Fuller Company (FUL - Snapshot Report), Globe Specialty Metals, Inc. (GSM - Snapshot Report), OM Group, Inc. (OMG - Snapshot Report), Rhodia SA (RHAYY) and Tronox Inc. (TROX).

The second quarter report included earnings per share of $1.11 (or $1.17 adjusted), which bettered the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 97 cents. This marked the eighth straight quarter with a positive surprise and a substantial year-over-year improvement from 59 cents.

Net sales reached $1 billion, up nearly 23% from last year's $813.7 million, as it benefited from strong product demand and improved pricing and productivity.

Rockwood Holdings is very optimistic for the future as it expects to maintain its high margins and improve EPS, while using its cash flow to promote organic growth and reduce leverage in line with long-term objectives.

And why shouldn't the company be optimistic? Not only did it find a way to succeed during another rough session on Tuesday, but its earnings estimates have been moving in the right direction for months now.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2011 is currently $3.61 per share, which is up 21% in the past 3 months.

Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for next year is at $4.30 per share, which means that analysts are expecting an improvement of 19% year over year. The guidance is up 20% in 3 months.

Read the full analyst report on RHAYY

Read the full analyst report on FUL

Read the full analyst report on OMG

Read the full analyst report on ROC

Read the full analyst report on GSM