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Is International Paper (IP) Outperforming 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 International Paper (IP - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

International Paper is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 238 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. 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 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. International Paper is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IP's full-year earnings has moved 4.8% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, IP has moved about 20.7% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have lost about 1.2% on average. This shows that International Paper is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Eldorado Gold Corporation (EGO - Free Report) . The stock is up 27.6% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Eldorado Gold Corporation's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 43.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, International Paper belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #70 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 11.7% so far this year, so IP is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Eldorado Gold Corporation belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. This 37-stock industry is currently ranked #57. The industry has moved +22% year to date.

International Paper and Eldorado Gold Corporation 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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