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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Alpha Metallurgical Resources (AMR) 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. Alpha Metallurgical (AMR - 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? 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.

Alpha Metallurgical is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 240 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 proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Alpha Metallurgical is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMR's full-year earnings has moved 60.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AMR has moved about 158.4% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 6%. This means that Alpha Metallurgical is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FSUGY - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 10.5%.

Over the past three months, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 53.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Alpha Metallurgical belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 49 individual stocks and currently sits at #44 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 15.4% so far this year, meaning that AMR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. falls under the Mining - Iron industry. Currently, this industry has 2 stocks and is ranked #1. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +26.3%.

Alpha Metallurgical and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. 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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