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Is Albemarle (ALB) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks 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. Albemarle (ALB - 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.

Albemarle is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 248 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. 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. Albemarle is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALB's full-year earnings has moved 52% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, ALB has moved about 20.5% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 14.8%. This means that Albemarle is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, CF Industries (CF - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 41.6%.

In CF Industries' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 94.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Albemarle belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 29 individual stocks and currently sits at #93 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 26% this year, meaning that ALB is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, CF Industries falls under the Fertilizers industry. Currently, this industry has 6 stocks and is ranked #47. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +13%.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Albemarle and CF Industries. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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