Has Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

CLF

Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF - 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? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of CLF and the rest of the Basic Materials group's stocks.

Cleveland-Cliffs is one of 240 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. CLF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLF's full-year earnings has moved 35.93% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, CLF has gained about 17.89% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -4.77%. As we can see, Cleveland-Cliffs is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, CLF belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 33 individual stocks and currently sits at #49 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 2.21% so far this year, so CLF is performing better in this area.

CLF will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.

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