Is L.B. Foster (FSTR) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. L.B. Foster (FSTR) 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.L.B. Foster is one of 248 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 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 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. L.B. Foster is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FSTR's full-year earnings has moved 12.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.Based on the most recent data, FSTR has returned 54.5% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 15.1%. This means that L.B. Foster is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.Voestalpine AG (VLPNY) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 24.6%.Over the past three months, Voestalpine AG's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 40%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Breaking things down more, L.B. Foster is a member of the Steel - Producers industry, which includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #43 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 39.6% so far this year, so FSTR is performing better in this area. On the other hand, Voestalpine AG belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry. This 6-stock industry is currently ranked #29. The industry has moved +70.7% year to date.Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track L.B. Foster and Voestalpine AG. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.Radical New Technology Could Hand Investors Huge GainsQuantum Computing is the next technological revolution, and it could be even more advanced than AI.While some believed the technology was years away, it is already present and moving fast. Large hyperscalers, such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and even Meta and Tesla, are scrambling to integrate quantum computing into their infrastructure.Senior Stock Strategist Kevin Cook reveals 7 carefully selected stocks poised to dominate the quantum computing landscape in his report, Beyond AI: The Quantum Leap in Computing Power.Kevin was among the early experts who recognized NVIDIA's enormous potential back in 2016. Now, he has keyed in on what could be "the next big thing" in quantum computing supremacy. Today, you have a rare chance to position your portfolio at the forefront of this opportunity.See Top Quantum Stocks Now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks