Has Bunge Limited (BG) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?
The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Bunge (BG) 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.
Bunge is one of 232 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #14 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Bunge is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BG's full-year earnings has moved 9.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, BG has gained about 6.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -0.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Bunge is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Linde (LIN), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 17.2%.
In Linde's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 0.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Bunge is a member of the Agriculture - Products industry, which includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #20 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 3% this year, meaning that BG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Linde falls under the Chemical - Specialty industry. Currently, this industry has 34 stocks and is ranked #218. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +5.2%.
Bunge and Linde 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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