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Is American Vanguard (AVD) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has American Vanguard (AVD - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

American Vanguard is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 241 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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. American Vanguard is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AVD's full-year earnings has moved 1.1% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, AVD has returned 39.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 15.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that American Vanguard is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Intrepid Potash (IPI - Free Report) . The stock is up 179.7% year-to-date.

In Intrepid Potash's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 34.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, American Vanguard is a member of the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 34 individual companies and currently sits at #162 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 15.3% this year, meaning that AVD is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Intrepid Potash, however, belongs to the Fertilizers industry. Currently, this 7-stock industry is ranked #2. The industry has moved +56% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to American Vanguard and Intrepid Potash as they could maintain their solid performance.


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