Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA) 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. Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Axalta Coating Systems is one of 275 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #15 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Axalta Coating Systems is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXTA's full-year earnings has moved 1.9% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AXTA has moved about 14.7% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 14.6%. This means that Axalta Coating Systems is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Carpenter Technology (CRS) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 70.1%.

Over the past three months, Carpenter Technology's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Axalta Coating Systems belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 46 individual stocks and currently sits at #150 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 11% so far this year, so AXTA is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Carpenter Technology belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry. This 6-stock industry is currently ranked #24. The industry has moved +61.1% year to date.

Axalta Coating Systems and Carpenter Technology 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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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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