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Has Livent (LTHM) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Livent 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.

Livent is one of 238 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #8 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LTHM's full-year earnings has moved 12.2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, LTHM has returned 42.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -10.8% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Livent is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Uranium Energy (UEC - Free Report) . The stock has returned 16.4% year-to-date.

In Uranium Energy's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 66.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Livent is a member of the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 34 individual companies and currently sits at #52 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 24.2% so far this year, meaning that LTHM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Uranium Energy belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. This 46-stock industry is currently ranked #140. The industry has moved -9.3% year to date.

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


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