For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. First Majestic Silver (AG) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
First Majestic Silver is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 254 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. First Majestic Silver is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AG's full-year earnings has moved 4% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that AG has returned about 37.8% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 21.3%. As we can see, First Majestic Silver is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is McEwen (MUX). The stock is up 38.9% year-to-date.
In McEwen's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 9200% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, First Majestic Silver belongs to the Mining - Silver industry, which includes 9 individual stocks and currently sits at #13 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 21.3% so far this year, so AG is performing better in this area.
In contrast, McEwen falls under the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 73 stocks and is ranked #54. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +22.5%.
Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to First Majestic Silver and McEwen as they could maintain their solid performance.
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First Majestic Silver Corp. (AG): Free Stock Analysis Report McEwen Inc. (MUX): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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