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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging ATI Inc. (ATI) 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 Allegheny Technologies (ATI - 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.

Allegheny Technologies is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 240 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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 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. Allegheny Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATI's full-year earnings has moved 7.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, ATI has moved about 29.9% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -1.6%. This means that Allegheny Technologies 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 Eldorado Gold Corporation (EGO - Free Report) . The stock is up 13.7% year-to-date.

In Eldorado Gold Corporation's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 33.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Allegheny Technologies is a member of the Steel - Speciality industry, which includes 6 individual companies and currently sits at #17 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 27.3% this year, meaning that ATI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Eldorado Gold Corporation falls under the Mining - Gold industry. Currently, this industry has 39 stocks and is ranked #32. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +11.2%.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Allegheny Technologies and Eldorado Gold Corporation as they could maintain their solid performance.


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