Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Dow (DOW) This Year?

The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Dow Inc. (DOW) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.Dow Inc. is one of 248 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Dow Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DOW's full-year earnings has moved 3175.5% 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, DOW has moved about 68.7% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 21.1%. This means that Dow Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.CF Industries (CF) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 68.6%.In CF Industries' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 86.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).Breaking things down more, Dow Inc. is a member of the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 29 individual companies and currently sits at #99 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 37.4% this year, meaning that DOW is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. CF Industries, however, belongs to the Fertilizers industry. Currently, this 6-stock industry is ranked #27. The industry has moved +24% so far this year.Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Dow Inc. and CF Industries as they attempt to continue their solid performance.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks