Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Has Air Liquide (AIQUY) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Air Liquide (AIQUY - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Air Liquide is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 232 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Air Liquide is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIQUY's full-year earnings has moved 1.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, AIQUY has gained about 26.1% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 8.4%. As we can see, Air Liquide is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is NioCorp Developments Ltd. (NB - Free Report) . The stock is up 65.8% year-to-date.

For NioCorp Developments Ltd., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 29.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Air Liquide belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, a group that includes 28 individual stocks and currently sits at #225 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 16.5% so far this year, so AIQUY is performing better in this area.

In contrast, NioCorp Developments Ltd. falls under the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 58 stocks and is ranked #156. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +9.6%.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Air Liquide and NioCorp Developments Ltd. as they could maintain their solid performance.

See More Zacks Research for These Tickers

Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE: