Has Veritiv (VRTV) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?
Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Veritiv (VRTV) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Veritiv is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 241 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #4. 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Veritiv is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRTV's full-year earnings has moved 50.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the most recent data, VRTV has returned 19.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 5.7% on average. As we can see, Veritiv is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Westlake Chemical (WLK), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 37.5%.
In Westlake Chemical's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 27.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Veritiv belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 13 individual companies and currently sits at #212 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 0.8% so far this year, so VRTV is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Westlake Chemical belongs to the Chemical - Plastic industry. This 3-stock industry is currently ranked #48. The industry has moved +29.4% year to date.
Veritiv and Westlake Chemical 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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