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Is Aluminum (ACH) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Aluminum (ACH - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Aluminum is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 252 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Aluminum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACH's full-year earnings has moved 27.7% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ACH has returned about 52.2% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 7.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Aluminum 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 AdvanSix (ASIX - Free Report) . The stock has returned 140.4% year-to-date.

In AdvanSix's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 14.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Aluminum belongs to the Mining - Non Ferrous industry, a group that includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #163 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 18.7% so far this year, so ACH is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, AdvanSix belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. This 37-stock industry is currently ranked #153. The industry has moved +10% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Aluminum and AdvanSix. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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