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Is CalMaine Foods (CALM) 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. Cal-Maine Foods (CALM - 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.

Cal-Maine Foods is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 241 different companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Cal-Maine Foods is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CALM's full-year earnings has moved 114% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that CALM has returned about 52.5% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 11.3%. This means that Cal-Maine Foods is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Commercial Metals (CMC - Free Report) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 19.6%.

Over the past three months, Commercial Metals' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 19.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Cal-Maine Foods is a member of the Agriculture - Products industry, which includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 13.5% so far this year, so CALM is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Commercial Metals belongs to the Steel - Producers industry. This 24-stock industry is currently ranked #19. The industry has moved +35% year to date.

Cal-Maine Foods and Commercial Metals could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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