Investing in small-cap materials stocks can be tricky. The direction of the broader economy often plays a big role in their success, and notoriously unpredictable factors like mining output or commodity prices can often be key to maintaining margins. But equities.com's Small-Cap Stars, our proprietary list of those small-cap companies with metrics that are typically the most indicative of future success, gives investors a way to identify those companies that are best-positioned to ride out the tough times and make major gains in the good times.
Here's a look at the five top-performing basic materials Small-Cap Stars:
Gevo Inc. (GEVO)
Gevo Inc. gained 12.92% to $0.70. The gains came on a volume of 3,903,170 shares against an average daily volume of 400,559 shares. Gevo Inc. has had a trading range from $2.18 to $0.55 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $0.85, and a 200-day SMA of $1.23.
Gevo Inc is a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company focused on the development and commercialization of alternatives to petroleum-based products based on isobutanol produced from renewable feedstocks.
Westmoreland Coal Company (WLB)
Westmoreland Coal Company gained 4.71% to $42.93. The gains came on a volume of 289,900 shares against an average daily volume of 220,944 shares. Westmoreland Coal Company has had a trading range from $43.45 to $12.33 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $35.38, and a 200-day SMA of $24.64.
Westmoreland Coal Co is an energy company. The Company's main activities are the production and sale of coal from its mines in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota and Texas; and the ownership of power plants in North Carolina.
Isramco Inc. (ISRL)
Isramco Inc. gained 4.53% to $126.90. The gains came on a volume of 241 shares against an average daily volume of 1,316 shares. Isramco Inc. has had a trading range from $157.99 to $104.10 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $129.53, and a 200-day SMA of $130.50.
Isramco Inc is an independent oil and natural gas company, engaged in the exploration, development and production of predominately oil and natural gas properties located onshore in the United States and off shore Israel.
Primeenergy Corporation (PNRG)
Primeenergy Corporation gained 2.87% to $66.97. The gains came on a volume of 458 shares against an average daily volume of 573 shares. Primeenergy Corporation has had a trading range from $67.79 to $37.65 over the last year, its P/E ratio is 15.8, it has a 50-day SMA of $61.49, and a 200-day SMA of $54.00.
PrimeEnergy Corp is engaged in the oil and gas business through the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of crude oil and natural gas.
Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (HNR)
Harvest Natural Resources Inc. gained 2.75% to $4.49. The gains came on a volume of 122,665 shares against an average daily volume of 426,242 shares. Harvest Natural Resources Inc. has had a trading range from $6.08 to $2.76 over the last year, it has a 50-day SMA of $4.79, and a 200-day SMA of $4.47.
Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. is an energy company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, development, production and disposition of oil and natural gas properties.
Equities.com's Small-Cap Stars - Stocks Made From Sterner Stuff
Investing in small-cap materials stocks is a high-risk, high-reward proposition much of the time. Often, the best way to approach the sector is simply limiting the number of misses as much as possible. And that's what the equities.com Small-Cap Stars system does.
By looking at past success stories among basic materials small caps, the Small-Cap Stars system can identify what level several dozen metrics were at among those successful companies and determine which of those factors were the most predictive of future success. We then precisely construct a carefully balanced screen through advanced statistical regression that will identify those companies that currently have the most in common with those that succeeded in the past immediately before those stocks took off.
Among the traits our system found the most revealing of a strong materials company were a low ratio of enterprise value to sales, a low effective tax rate, and a high ROE-cost of equity.
All data provided by QuoteMedia and was accurate as of 4:30 pm ET.