Is CF Industries (CF) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has CF Industries (CF) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.CF Industries is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 235 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #11. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.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. CF Industries is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CF's full-year earnings has moved 14.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.According to our latest data, CF has moved about 5.3% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -0.5%. This means that CF Industries is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Alamos Gold (AGI). The stock is up 43.9% year-to-date.For Alamos Gold, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).To break things down more, CF Industries belongs to the Fertilizers industry, a group that includes 8 individual companies and currently sits at #157 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 16.6% so far this year, so CF is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.In contrast, Alamos Gold falls under the Mining - Gold industry. Currently, this industry has 38 stocks and is ranked #16. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +22.1%.Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to CF Industries and Alamos Gold as they could maintain their solid performance.Free Report: 5 Clean Energy Stocks with Massive UpsideEnergy is the backbone of our economy. It’s a multi-trillion dollar industry that has created some of the world’s largest and most profitable companies.Now state-of-the-art technology is paving the way for clean energy sources to overtake “old-fashioned” fossil fuels. Trillions of dollars are already pouring into clean energy initiatives, from solar power to hydrogen fuel cells.Emerging leaders from this space could be some of the most exciting stocks in your portfolio.Download Nuclear to Solar: 5 Stocks Powering the Future to see Zacks’ top picks free today.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 CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (CF): Free Stock Analysis Report Alamos Gold Inc. (AGI): Free Stock Analysis ReportTo read this article on Zacks.com click here.Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks