Is ATI Inc. (ATI) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

ATI LIN

The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Allegheny Technologies (ATI - Free Report) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Allegheny Technologies is one of 240 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #13 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. Allegheny Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATI's full-year earnings has moved 5% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that ATI has returned about 30.5% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 5.6%. This means that Allegheny Technologies is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Linde (LIN - Free Report) . The stock has returned 7.8% year-to-date.

For Linde, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Allegheny Technologies belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry, a group that includes 4 individual companies and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 24.2% so far this year, so ATI is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Linde falls under the Chemical - Specialty industry. Currently, this industry has 32 stocks and is ranked #213. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +3.4%.

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

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