Is AkzoNobel (AKZOY) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY) 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.Akzo Nobel NV 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 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. Akzo Nobel NV is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AKZOY's full-year earnings has moved 10.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.Based on the latest available data, AKZOY has gained about 17.3% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 9.6%. This shows that Akzo Nobel NV is outperforming its peers so far this year.Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Compass Minerals (CMP). The stock has returned 78% year-to-date.For Compass Minerals, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 25.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Looking more specifically, Akzo Nobel NV belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 28 individual stocks and currently sits at #212 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 15.6% this year, meaning that AKZOY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Compass Minerals is also part of the same industry.Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Akzo Nobel NV and Compass Minerals as they could maintain their solid performance.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY): Free Stock Analysis Report Compass Minerals International, Inc. (CMP): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks