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For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is CF Industries (CF) one of those stocks right now? 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.
CF Industries is one of 233 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #11 within 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. CF Industries is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CF's full-year earnings has moved 9.2% 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, CF has moved about 5.7% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 12.2%. As we can see, CF Industries 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 Silvercorp (SVM). The stock is up 10.7% year-to-date.
For Silvercorp, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, CF Industries belongs to the Fertilizers industry, a group that includes 8 individual companies and currently sits at #177 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 19.9% so far this year, meaning that CF is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Silvercorp falls under the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 59 stocks and is ranked #156. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -20.9%.
Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on CF Industries and Silvercorp as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF) : Free Stock Analysis Report