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Is CalMaine Foods (CALM) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers 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. 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 242 different companies and currently sits at #16 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. Cal-Maine Foods is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CALM's full-year earnings has moved 43.8% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, CALM has returned 43.9% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 4.3%. This means that Cal-Maine Foods is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Clearwater Paper (CLW - 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 5.1%.

For Clearwater Paper, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.3% over the past three months. 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 #34 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 4.9% this year, meaning that CALM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Clearwater Paper falls under the Paper and Related Products industry. Currently, this industry has 13 stocks and is ranked #170. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -12.8%.

Cal-Maine Foods and Clearwater Paper 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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