3 Stocks Improving Performance Of The Basic Materials Sector

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

All three major indices are trading up today with the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

(

^DJI

) trading up 8 points (0.0%) at 18,524 as of Monday, July 18, 2016, 12:55 PM ET. The NYSE advances/declines ratio sits at 1,660 issues advancing vs. 1,244 declining with 151 unchanged.

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

Kinder Morgan

(

KMI

), up 3.3%,

Marathon Petroleum

(

MPC

), up 2.1%,

Energy Transfer Partners

(

ETP

), up 1.9%,

ArcelorMittal

(

MT

), up 1.8% and

Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras

(

PBR

), up 1.7%. On the negative front, top decliners within the sector include

Apache

(

APA

), down 1.7%,

Tenaris

(

TS

), down 1.6%,

TransCanada

(

TRP

), down 1.5%,

EOG Resources

(

EOG

), down 1.5% and

Statoil ASA

(

STO

), down 1.2%.

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

3.

LyondellBasell Industries

(

LYB

) is one of the companies pushing the Basic Materials sector higher today. As of noon trading, LyondellBasell Industries is up $0.54 (0.7%) to $78.45 on light volume. Thus far, 897,499 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 $77.35-$78.66 after having opened the day at $77.55 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $77.91.

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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 $33.1 billion and is part of the chemicals industry. Shares are down 10.3% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Friday. Currently there are 4 analysts who rate LyondellBasell Industries a buy, 2 analysts rate it a sell, and 8 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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2. As of noon trading,

Royal Dutch Shell

(

RDS.A

) is up $0.28 (0.5%) to $55.49 on average volume. Thus far, 2.7 million shares of Royal Dutch Shell exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 5.0 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $54.79-$55.60 after having opened the day at $55.13 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $55.21.

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Royal Dutch Shell plc operates as an independent oil and gas company worldwide. It operates through Upstream and Downstream segments. The company explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids. Royal Dutch Shell has a market cap of $222.5 billion and is part of the energy industry. Shares are up 20.6% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Friday.

TheStreet Ratings rates

Royal Dutch Shell

as a

hold

. Among the primary strengths of the company is its solid financial position based on a variety of debt and liquidity measures that we have evaluated. At the same time, however, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, poor profit margins and weak operating cash flow. Get the full

Royal Dutch Shell Ratings Report

now.

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1. As of noon trading,

Dow Chemical

(

DOW

) is up $0.33 (0.6%) to $52.39 on light volume. Thus far, 1.6 million shares of Dow Chemical exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 7.2 million shares. The stock has ranged in price between $51.79-$52.44 after having opened the day at $52.00 as compared to the previous trading day's close of $52.06.

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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 $58.2 billion and is part of the chemicals industry. Shares are up 1.1% year-to-date as of the close of trading on Friday. Currently there are 5 analysts who rate Dow Chemical a buy, 1 analyst rates 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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