Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Carpenter Technology (CRS) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Carpenter Technology is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 233 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #14. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Carpenter Technology is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS' full-year earnings has moved 3.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that CRS has returned about 19% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 4% on average. As we can see, Carpenter Technology is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Hecla Mining (HL). The stock has returned 4.1% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Hecla Mining's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 35.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Carpenter Technology belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry, which includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #45 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7.5% so far this year, meaning that CRS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Hecla Mining falls under the Mining - Silver industry. Currently, this industry has 9 stocks and is ranked #41. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +10.8%.

Carpenter Technology and Hecla Mining could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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