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Is Carpenter Technology (CRS) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Carpenter Technology (CRS - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.

Carpenter Technology is one of 240 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in 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 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. Carpenter Technology is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS' full-year earnings has moved 5.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that CRS has returned about 47.8% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 0.3%. This shows that Carpenter Technology is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Harmony Gold (HMY - Free Report) . The stock has returned 49.8% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Harmony Gold's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 37.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Carpenter Technology is a member of the Steel - Speciality industry, which includes 6 individual companies and currently sits at #18 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 30.1% so far this year, so CRS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Harmony Gold, however, belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. Currently, this 39-stock industry is ranked #40. The industry has moved +14.6% so far this year.

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


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