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Is Albemarle (ALB) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers 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. Has Albemarle (ALB - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Albemarle is one of 251 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #9 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALB's full-year earnings has moved 11.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, ALB has gained about 54.5% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 9.3%. This shows that Albemarle is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is AdvanSix (ASIX - Free Report) . The stock is up 125.9% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for AdvanSix's current year EPS has increased 13% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Albemarle is a member of the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 41 individual companies and currently sits at #93 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 15.5% this year, meaning that ALB is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

AdvanSix, however, belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. Currently, this 37-stock industry is ranked #196. The industry has moved +5.4% so far this year.

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


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