For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Carpenter Technology (CRS) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Carpenter Technology 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 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. Carpenter Technology is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS' full-year earnings has moved 16.4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, CRS has gained about 120.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 2.4% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Carpenter Technology is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Centamin (CELTF). The stock is up 79.4% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Centamin's current year EPS has increased 66.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Carpenter Technology belongs to the Steel - Speciality industry, a group that includes 6 individual stocks and currently sits at #17 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 51.8% so far this year, meaning that CRS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Centamin, however, belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 60-stock industry is ranked #186. The industry has moved -10.2% so far this year.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Carpenter Technology and Centamin as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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