Is Veritiv (VRTV) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks 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. Has Veritiv (VRTV) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Veritiv is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 241 different companies and currently sits at #4 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. Veritiv is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRTV's full-year earnings has moved 88.7% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that VRTV has returned about 15.6% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 1%. This means that Veritiv is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Westlake Chemical (WLK). The stock is up 33.2% year-to-date.

For Westlake Chemical, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 31.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Veritiv belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #71 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 2% so far this year, meaning that VRTV is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Westlake Chemical falls under the Chemical - Plastic industry. Currently, this industry has 3 stocks and is ranked #101. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +22.5%.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Veritiv and Westlake Chemical as they could maintain their solid performance.

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