Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging American Vanguard (AVD) This Year?
Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has American Vanguard (AVD) been one of those stocks this year? 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.
American Vanguard is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 236 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #15. 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 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. American Vanguard is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVD's full-year earnings has moved 4.4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, AVD has moved about 0.6% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have lost about 7% on average. As we can see, American Vanguard is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Ecolab (ECL), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 9.1%.
For Ecolab, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, American Vanguard is a member of the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 33 individual companies and currently sits at #101 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 3.4% so far this year, so AVD is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Ecolab is also part of the same industry.
Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track American Vanguard and Ecolab. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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American Vanguard Corporation (AVD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Ecolab Inc. (ECL) : Free Stock Analysis Report
