Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging CalMaine Foods (CALM) This Year?
Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Cal-Maine Foods is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 242 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. 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. Cal-Maine Foods is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CALM's full-year earnings has moved 251.6% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
According to our latest data, CALM has moved about 40.2% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have lost about 10.2% on average. This means that Cal-Maine Foods is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Cabot (CBT) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 28%.
Over the past three months, Cabot's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.3%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Cal-Maine Foods belongs to the Agriculture - Products industry, a group that includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 2.1% so far this year, so CALM is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Cabot falls under the Chemical - Diversified industry. Currently, this industry has 35 stocks and is ranked #146. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -11.4%.
Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Cal-Maine Foods and Cabot as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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