The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is DRDGOLD (DRD) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.
DRDGOLD is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 241 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. 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 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. DRDGOLD is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DRD's full-year earnings has moved 57.8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, DRD has gained about 249.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 26.7% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, DRDGOLD is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Southern Copper (SCCO), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 44.7%.
In Southern Copper's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 4.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, DRDGOLD belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #46 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 131.8% this year, meaning that DRD is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Southern Copper, however, belongs to the Mining - Non Ferrous industry. Currently, this 10-stock industry is ranked #10. The industry has moved +28.3% so far this year.
Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track DRDGOLD and Southern Copper. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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DRDGOLD Limited (DRD): Free Stock Analysis Report Southern Copper Corporation (SCCO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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