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Is Clearwater Paper (CLW) 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. Clearwater Paper (CLW - 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.

Clearwater Paper is one of 242 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #12 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Clearwater Paper is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLW's full-year earnings has moved 8.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that CLW has returned about 2.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -3.8% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Clearwater Paper is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Allkem . The stock has returned 5.6% year-to-date.

For Allkem , the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Clearwater Paper belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 17.3% this year, meaning that CLW is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Allkem belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. This 34-stock industry is currently ranked #202. The industry has moved -31.3% year to date.

Clearwater Paper and Allkem 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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