Aperam SA

Zacks Investment Research highlights three steel producers with strong competitive advantages and long-term growth potential. Ternium, a vertically integrated steelmaker in the Americas, trades at 8 times forward earnings with a nearly 6% dividend yield and is expected to see earnings per share soar 138% in fiscal 2027 to $5.16. L.B. Foster, a niche supplier of engineered steel products for infrastructure, is projected to rebound 152% in earnings per share this year to $1.74. Aperam, a specialty stainless and electrical steel producer, offers a 4.19% dividend yield and high double-digit earnings per share growth expected in fiscal 2026 and 2027.

Aperam has returned about 41.9% since the start of the calendar year, significantly outperforming the Basic Materials sector's average return of 9.1%. The stock currently holds a Zacks Rank of 2, or Buy, and its full-year earnings consensus estimate has moved 25.7% higher over the past quarter. Within the Basic Materials group, which includes 248 companies and ranks third out of 16 sectors in the Zacks Sector Rank, Aperam belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a 17-stock group that has gained about 29.9% year-to-date. Another Basic Materials stock, Element Solutions, has returned 84.6% year-to-date and falls under the Chemical - Specialty industry, which has 44 stocks and is up 13.9% this year.