Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of United States Steel (NYSE:X), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of X and the rest of the Basic Materials group's stocks.
United States Steel is one of 250 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #9 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. X is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for X's full-year earnings has moved 30.87% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that X has returned about 39.30% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 5.50%. This means that United States Steel is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Looking more specifically, X belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual stocks and currently sits at #17 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 42.36% so far this year, so X is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.
Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to X as it looks to continue its solid performance.
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United States Steel Corporation (X): Free Stock Analysis Report
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