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Is Schnitzer Steel Industries (SCHN) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Schnitzer Steel Industries , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.

Schnitzer Steel Industries is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 245 different companies and currently sits at #6 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. SCHN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SCHN's full-year earnings has moved 57.35% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that SCHN has returned about 52.58% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 18.13%. This means that Schnitzer Steel Industries is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

To break things down more, SCHN belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual companies and currently sits at #11 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 40.34% this year, meaning that SCHN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Basic Materials sector will want to keep a close eye on SCHN as it attempts to continue its solid performance.

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