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Is Commercial Metals (CMC) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Commercial Metals (CMC - Free Report) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Commercial Metals is one of 243 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #16 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. Commercial Metals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMC's full-year earnings has moved 3.8% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, CMC has returned 19.4% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -14.3%. This shows that Commercial Metals is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Ryerson Holding (RYI - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 21.3%.

Over the past three months, Ryerson Holding's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 14%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Commercial Metals belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual stocks and currently sits at #239 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 11.3% so far this year, so CMC is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Ryerson Holding is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Commercial Metals and Ryerson Holding as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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