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

For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Carpenter Technology (CRS) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Carpenter Technology is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 236 different companies and currently sits at #16 in 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 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. Carpenter Technology is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS' full-year earnings has moved 5.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, CRS has returned 45.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 19.6% on average. As we can see, Carpenter Technology is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Hecla Mining (HL). The stock has returned 83.7% year-to-date.

For Hecla Mining, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 68.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Carpenter Technology belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry, a group that includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #53 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 38.9% so far this year, meaning that CRS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Hecla Mining falls under the Mining - Silver industry. Currently, this industry has 9 stocks and is ranked #33. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +65.3%.

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

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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