Is International Paper (IP) 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 International Paper (IP) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.International Paper is one of 235 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #12 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. International Paper is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IP's full-year earnings has moved 13.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.Our latest available data shows that IP has returned about 1.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -11.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that International Paper is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.New Found Gold Corp. (NFGC) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 3.9%.In New Found Gold Corp.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 19.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Looking more specifically, International Paper belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 11 individual stocks and currently sits at #44 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 36.4% so far this year, so IP is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.On the other hand, New Found Gold Corp. belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. This 40-stock industry is currently ranked #163. The industry has moved +12.9% year to date.International Paper and New Found Gold Corp. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.Research Chief Names "Single Best Pick to Double"From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.This company targets millennial and Gen Z audiences, generating nearly $1 billion in revenue last quarter alone. A recent pullback makes now an ideal time to jump aboard. Of course, all our elite picks aren’t winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Nano-X Imaging which shot up +129.6% in little more than 9 months.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant 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 International Paper Company (IP): Free Stock Analysis Report New Found Gold Corp. (NFGC): 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