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Is Balchem (BCPC) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks 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. Blachem (BCPC - 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.

Blachem is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 237 different companies and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Blachem is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BCPC's full-year earnings has moved 9.8% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, BCPC has moved about 5.2% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -3% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Blachem is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is D S SMITH (DITHF - Free Report) . The stock is up 43.7% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for D S SMITH's current year EPS has increased 2.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Blachem belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, a group that includes 33 individual stocks and currently sits at #143 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 8.2% so far this year, meaning that BCPC is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

D S SMITH, however, belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry. Currently, this 12-stock industry is ranked #21. The industry has moved +6.1% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Blachem and D S SMITH as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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