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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Clearwater Paper (CLW) 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. Is Clearwater Paper (CLW - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Clearwater Paper is one of 294 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #13 within 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Clearwater Paper is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLW's full-year earnings has moved 31.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that CLW has returned about 9.4% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 5.8% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Clearwater Paper is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 41.9%.

The consensus estimate for Green Plains Renewable Energy's current year EPS has increased 26.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Clearwater Paper belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #87 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 4.8% this year, meaning that CLW is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Green Plains Renewable Energy, however, belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. Currently, this 47-stock industry is ranked #151. The industry has moved +11.9% so far this year.

Clearwater Paper and Green Plains Renewable Energy could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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