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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Hawkins (HWKN) 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. Hawkins (HWKN - 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.

Hawkins is one of 237 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #15 within 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. Hawkins is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWKN's full-year earnings has moved 4.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that HWKN has returned about 0.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -4.2% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Hawkins is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

McEwen (MUX - 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 8.3%.

Over the past three months, McEwen's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 38.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Hawkins belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, a group that includes 33 individual stocks and currently sits at #141 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 7.3% this year, meaning that HWKN is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, McEwen falls under the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 56 stocks and is ranked #148. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -12.9%.

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


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