The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? 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.
Agnico Eagle Mines is one of 236 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #15 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
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. Agnico Eagle Mines is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEM's full-year earnings has moved 12.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, AEM has gained about 109% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 22.7%. This shows that Agnico Eagle Mines is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Hecla Mining (HL). The stock has returned 137.7% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Hecla Mining's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 66.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Agnico Eagle Mines is a member of the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #71 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 118.6% this year, meaning that AEM is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Hecla Mining falls under the Mining - Silver industry. Currently, this industry has 9 stocks and is ranked #17. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +98.1%.
Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Agnico Eagle Mines and Hecla Mining as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM): Free Stock Analysis Report Hecla Mining Company (HL): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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