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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging CalMaine Foods (CALM) 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. Is Cal-Maine Foods (CALM - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Cal-Maine Foods is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 240 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Cal-Maine Foods is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CALM's full-year earnings has moved 19.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, CALM has returned 4.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -2.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Cal-Maine Foods is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Sylvamo Corporation (SLVM - Free Report) . The stock is up 19% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Sylvamo Corporation's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 29.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Cal-Maine Foods belongs to the Agriculture - Products industry, a group that includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #74 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 2.4% this year, meaning that CALM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Sylvamo Corporation belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry. This 12-stock industry is currently ranked #22. The industry has moved +6% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Cal-Maine Foods and Sylvamo Corporation as they could maintain their solid performance.


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Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (CALM) - free report >>

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