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Is ATI Inc. (ATI) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

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

Allegheny Technologies is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 242 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Allegheny Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATI's full-year earnings has moved 22.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, ATI has gained about 86.7% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -9.2%. As we can see, Allegheny Technologies is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Clearwater Paper (CLW - Free Report) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 15.9%.

In Clearwater Paper's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 13.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Allegheny Technologies belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry, a group that includes 4 individual stocks and currently sits at #5 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 42% this year, meaning that ATI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Clearwater Paper falls under the Paper and Related Products industry. Currently, this industry has 13 stocks and is ranked #99. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -9.9%.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Allegheny Technologies and Clearwater Paper as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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