The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Compass Minerals (CMP) 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? 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.
Compass Minerals is one of 254 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Compass Minerals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMP's full-year earnings has moved 28.9% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, CMP has gained about 26.6% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 26.6%.
One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Fresnillo PLC (FNLPF). The stock is up 29.6% year-to-date.
For Fresnillo PLC, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 38.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Compass Minerals is a member of the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 29 individual companies and currently sits at #189 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 22.8% so far this year, so CMP is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Fresnillo PLC belongs to the Mining - Silver industry. This 9-stock industry is currently ranked #13. The industry has moved +35.1% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Compass Minerals and Fresnillo PLC as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Compass Minerals International, Inc. (CMP): Free Stock Analysis Report Fresnillo PLC (FNLPF): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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