For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Gold Fields (GFI) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Gold Fields is one of 238 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #15 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Gold Fields is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GFI's full-year earnings has moved 9.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, GFI has gained about 143.3% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 17.8%. This means that Gold Fields is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Silvercorp (SVM). The stock is up 54.7% year-to-date.
For Silvercorp, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 17.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Gold Fields belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 39 individual stocks and currently sits at #77 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 80.5% so far this year, meaning that GFI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Silvercorp, however, belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 64-stock industry is ranked #161. The industry has moved +20.4% so far this year.
Gold Fields and Silvercorp could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Gold Fields Limited (GFI): Free Stock Analysis Report Silvercorp Metals Inc. (SVM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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