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Has Schnitzer Steel Industries (SCHN) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Schnitzer Steel Industries , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? 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.

Schnitzer Steel Industries is one of 235 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #13 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. SCHN is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SCHN's full-year earnings has moved 28.57% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, SCHN has moved about 44% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 19.95%. This shows that Schnitzer Steel Industries is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Looking more specifically, SCHN belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual stocks and currently sits at #169 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 18.16% so far this year, meaning that SCHN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to SCHN as it looks to continue its solid performance.

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