3 Stocks Boosting The Basic Materials Sector Higher

TheStreet highlights 3 stocks pushing the basic materials sector higher today.
By TheStreet Wire ,

One out of the three major indices are trading lower today with the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

(

^DJI

) trading down 56 points (-0.3%) at 17,863 as of Thursday, July 7, 2016, 12:55 PM ET. The NYSE advances/declines ratio sits at 1,647 issues advancing vs. 1,277 declining with 139 unchanged.

The Basic Materials sector currently sits down 0.1% versus the S&P 500, which is unchanged. Top gainers within the sector include

MPLX

(

MPLX

), up 2.9%,

Energy Transfer Equity

(

ETE

), up 2.6%,

Williams Partners

(

WPZ

), up 1.4%,

Monsanto

(

MON

), up 1.3% and

Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras

(

PBR.A

), up 1.2%. On the negative front, top decliners within the sector include

Randgold Resources

(

GOLD

), down 3.6%,

Barrick Gold

(

ABX

), down 3.1%,

Canadian Natural Resources

(

CNQ

), down 1.8%,

Marathon Petroleum

(

MPC

), down 1.3% and

Chevron

(

CVX

), down 1.2%.

TheStreet would like to highlight 3 stocks pushing the sector higher today:

3.

Williams Companies

(

WMB

) is one of the companies pushing the Basic Materials sector higher today. As of noon trading, Williams Companies is up $0.34 (1.6%) to $20.78 on average volume. Thus far, 4.9 million shares of Williams Companies exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 12.0 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $20.39-$21.34 after having opened the day at $20.42 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $20.44.

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The Williams Companies, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily in the United States. The company operates through Williams Partners, Williams NGL (natural gas liquids) & Petchem Services, and Other segments. Williams Companies has a market cap of $15.4 billion and is part of the energy industry. Shares are down 20.5% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are 3 analysts who rate Williams Companies a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 4 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates

Williams Companies

as a

hold

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its good cash flow from operations and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, generally higher debt management risk and disappointing return on equity. Get the full

Williams Companies Ratings Report

now.

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2. As of noon trading,

LyondellBasell Industries

(

LYB

) is up $1.89 (2.6%) to $75.00 on average volume. Thus far, 1.7 million shares of LyondellBasell Industries exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 3.4 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $73.46-$75.20 after having opened the day at $73.64 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $73.11.

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LyondellBasell Industries N.V. operates as a manufacturer of chemicals and polymers, refiner of crude oil, producer of gasoline blending components, and developer and licensor of technologies for production of polymers. LyondellBasell Industries has a market cap of $31.9 billion and is part of the chemicals industry. Shares are down 15.9% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are 4 analysts who rate LyondellBasell Industries a buy, 2 analysts rate it a sell, and 7 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates

LyondellBasell Industries

as a

buy

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its notable return on equity and attractive valuation levels. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company shows weak operating cash flow. Get the full

LyondellBasell Industries Ratings Report

now.

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1. As of noon trading,

Dow Chemical

(

DOW

) is up $0.24 (0.5%) to $48.36 on light volume. Thus far, 2.0 million shares of Dow Chemical exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 6.9 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $48.13-$48.63 after having opened the day at $48.13 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $48.12.

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The Dow Chemical Company manufactures and supplies products that are used primarily as raw materials in the manufacture of customer products and services worldwide. Dow Chemical has a market cap of $55.6 billion and is part of the chemicals industry. Shares are down 6.5% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Wednesday. Currently there are 6 analysts who rate Dow Chemical a buy, no analysts rate it a sell, and 7 rate it a hold.

TheStreet Ratings rates

Dow Chemical

as a

buy

. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its largely solid financial position with reasonable debt levels by most measures, reasonable valuation levels and notable return on equity. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income. Get the full

Dow Chemical Ratings Report

now.

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If you are interested in one of these 3 stocks, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the basic materials sector could consider

Materials Select Sector SPDR

(

XLB

) while those bearish on the basic materials sector could consider

ProShares Short Basic Materials Fd

(

SBM

).

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