For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Novozymes A/S (NVZMY) 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.
Novozymes A/S is one of 232 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #7 within 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 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. Novozymes A/S is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NVZMY's full-year earnings has moved 9% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that NVZMY has returned about 17.3% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 4.6%. This shows that Novozymes A/S is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Mosaic (MOS), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 37%.
Over the past three months, Mosaic's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 19.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Novozymes A/S is a member of the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 37 individual companies and currently sits at #144 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.9% so far this year, so NVZMY is performing better in this area.
Mosaic, however, belongs to the Fertilizers industry. Currently, this 7-stock industry is ranked #21. The industry has moved +21.6% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Novozymes A/S and Mosaic as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Novozymes A/S (NVZMY): Free Stock Analysis Report The Mosaic Company (MOS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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