The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Posco (PKX) 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.
Posco is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 232 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Posco is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PKX's full-year earnings has moved 2.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, PKX has gained about 7.2% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 4.3%. As we can see, Posco is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Salzgitter AG (SZGPY) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 58.7%.
Over the past three months, Salzgitter AG's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 325%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Posco belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, which includes 18 individual stocks and currently sits at #29 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 9.4% this year, meaning that PKX is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Salzgitter AG is also part of the same industry.
Posco and Salzgitter AG 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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POSCO (PKX): Free Stock Analysis Report Salzgitter AG (SZGPY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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