Yahoo Finance Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging FreeportMcMoRan (FCX) This Year?
Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Freeport-McMoRan is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 238 different companies and currently sits at #9 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Freeport-McMoRan is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FCX's full-year earnings has moved 19.5% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, FCX has moved about 17.4% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 11.4%. This means that Freeport-McMoRan is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Gerdau (GGB). The stock is up 17.3% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Gerdau's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 34.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Freeport-McMoRan is a member of the Mining - Non Ferrous industry, which includes 13 individual companies and currently sits at #206 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 18.3% so far this year, meaning that FCX is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Gerdau belongs to the Steel - Producers industry. This 22-stock industry is currently ranked #19. The industry has moved +21.7% year to date.
Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Freeport-McMoRan and Gerdau as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Gerdau S.A. (GGB) : Free Stock Analysis Report
