Is Albemarle (ALB) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Albemarle (ALB) 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.Albemarle is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 248 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. 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. Albemarle is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALB's full-year earnings has moved 52% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.According to our latest data, ALB has moved about 20.5% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 14.8%. This means that Albemarle is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, CF Industries (CF), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 41.6%.In CF Industries' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 94.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Looking more specifically, Albemarle belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 29 individual stocks and currently sits at #93 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 26% this year, meaning that ALB is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. In contrast, CF Industries falls under the Fertilizers industry. Currently, this industry has 6 stocks and is ranked #47. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +13%.Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Albemarle and CF Industries. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks