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Is Cabot (CBT) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Cabot (CBT - Free Report) 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.

Cabot is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 236 different companies and currently sits at #15 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. Cabot is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CBT's full-year earnings has moved 4.2% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, CBT has gained about 32.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 2.9% on average. As we can see, Cabot is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Hawkins (HWKN - Free Report) . The stock has returned 78.1% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Hawkins' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 12.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Cabot belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, a group that includes 29 individual stocks and currently sits at #211 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 3% so far this year, meaning that CBT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Hawkins falls under the Chemical - Specialty industry. Currently, this industry has 33 stocks and is ranked #208. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -14.7%.

Cabot and Hawkins 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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