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Has Allegheny Technologies (ATI) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Allegheny Technologies (ATI - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Allegheny Technologies is one of 243 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. Allegheny Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATI's full-year earnings has moved 52.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that ATI has returned about 48.7% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 1.1% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Allegheny Technologies is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Innospec (IOSP - Free Report) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 6.4%.

For Innospec, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Allegheny Technologies belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry, a group that includes 4 individual companies and currently sits at #8 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 26.1% so far this year, so ATI is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Innospec belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry. This 40-stock industry is currently ranked #148. The industry has moved -8.4% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Allegheny Technologies and Innospec as they could maintain their solid performance.


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