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Has Uranium Energy (UEC) Outpaced 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. Is Uranium Energy (UEC - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.

Uranium Energy is one of 240 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #4 within 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. Uranium Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for UEC's full-year earnings has moved 44.4% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, UEC has returned 0.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have lost about 9% on average. This means that Uranium Energy 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 Westlake Chemical (WLK - Free Report) . The stock has returned 1.9% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Westlake Chemical's current year EPS has increased 28.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Uranium Energy belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 49 individual companies and currently sits at #149 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 1.6% so far this year, so UEC is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Westlake Chemical falls under the Chemical - Plastic industry. Currently, this industry has 3 stocks and is ranked #242. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -5.3%.

Uranium Energy and Westlake Chemical 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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