For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Nexa Resources S.A. (NEXA) 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? 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.
Nexa Resources S.A. is one of 254 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #2 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Nexa Resources S.A. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEXA's full-year earnings has moved 100.4% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, NEXA has returned 34.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 21.3% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Nexa Resources S.A. is outperforming its peers so far this year.
One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM). The stock is up 24.2% year-to-date.
For Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 26.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Nexa Resources S.A. belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 73 individual stocks and currently sits at #55 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 22.5% so far this year, meaning that NEXA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is also part of the same industry.
Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Nexa Resources S.A. and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Nexa Resources S.A. (NEXA): Free Stock Analysis Report Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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