Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Harmony Gold (HMY) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Harmony Gold is one of 238 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Harmony Gold is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HMY's full-year earnings has moved 43.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, HMY has gained about 92.7% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 12.6%. This means that Harmony Gold is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Novozymes A/S (NVZMY). The stock has returned 17.4% year-to-date.
For Novozymes A/S, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Harmony Gold belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #59 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 72.3% so far this year, meaning that HMY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Novozymes A/S belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. This 37-stock industry is currently ranked #157. The industry has moved +4.3% year to date.
Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Harmony Gold and Novozymes A/S. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (HMY): Free Stock Analysis Report Novozymes A/S (NVZMY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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