Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has New Gold (NGD) been one of those stocks this year? 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.
New Gold is one of 241 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 sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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. New Gold is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NGD's full-year earnings has moved 16% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, NGD has gained about 215.7% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 26.6%. This shows that New Gold is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Rio Tinto (RIO). The stock has returned 29.6% year-to-date.
For Rio Tinto, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, New Gold is a member of the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 41 individual companies and currently sits at #30 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 138.1% so far this year, so NGD is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Rio Tinto, however, belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 69-stock industry is ranked #140. The industry has moved +33.6% so far this year.
New Gold and Rio Tinto 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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New Gold Inc. (NGD): Free Stock Analysis Report Rio Tinto PLC (RIO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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