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Is EVRAZ (EVRZF) 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. EVRAZ 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.

EVRAZ is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 251 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. 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 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. EVRAZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for EVRZF's full-year earnings has moved 2% 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 EVRZF has returned about 29.9% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 7.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that EVRAZ is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, South32 Ltd. (SOUHY - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 45.6%.

Over the past three months, South32 Ltd.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 18%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, EVRAZ belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual companies and currently sits at #54 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 40.3% so far this year, so EVRZF is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

South32 Ltd. however, belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 51-stock industry is ranked #171. The industry has moved +0.3% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to EVRAZ and South32 Ltd. as they could maintain their solid performance.


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