Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Has Albemarle (ALB) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Albemarle (ALB - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Albemarle is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 242 different companies and currently sits at #12 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Albemarle is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALB's full-year earnings has moved 122.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, ALB has returned 0.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -11.2% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Albemarle is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Gold Resource (GORO - Free Report) . The stock has returned 6.4% year-to-date.

In Gold Resource's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 87.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Albemarle belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, a group that includes 35 individual companies and currently sits at #178 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 12.6% this year, meaning that ALB is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Gold Resource belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. This 40-stock industry is currently ranked #87. The industry has moved -14% year to date.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Albemarle and Gold Resource as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Albemarle Corporation (ALB) - free report >>

Gold Resource Corporation (GORO) - free report >>

Published in