For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE) 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? 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.
Green Plains Renewable Energy is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 240 different companies and currently sits at #7 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 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. Green Plains Renewable Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GPRE's full-year earnings has moved 4.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
According to our latest data, GPRE has moved about 19% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 17.8% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Green Plains Renewable Energy is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Lundin Mining (LUNMF). The stock is up 87.4% year-to-date.
In Lundin Mining's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 25.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Green Plains Renewable Energy belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 37 individual stocks and currently sits at #164 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 3.3% so far this year, so GPRE is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Lundin Mining, however, belongs to the Mining - Non Ferrous industry. Currently, this 10-stock industry is ranked #83. The industry has moved +25.2% so far this year.
Green Plains Renewable Energy and Lundin Mining 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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Green Plains, Inc. (GPRE): Free Stock Analysis Report Lundin Mining Corp. (LUNMF): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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