Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Cabot (CBT) 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.
Cabot is one of 244 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
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. Cabot is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CBT’s full-year earnings has moved 7.9% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock’s earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, CBT has returned 22.4% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 6%. This means that Cabot is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Gold Fields (GFI) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 46.5%.
For Gold Fields, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 17.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Cabot belongs to the Chemical – Diversified industry, a group that includes 40 individual companies and currently sits at #150 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 14% so far this year, so CBT is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Gold Fields falls under the Mining – Gold industry. Currently, this industry has 38 stocks and is ranked #162. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +23.6%.
Cabot and Gold Fields 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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