The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is B2Gold (BTG) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
B2Gold is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 232 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. B2Gold is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BTG's full-year earnings has moved 33.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that BTG has returned about 38.5% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 7.5%. This means that B2Gold is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY). The stock has returned 13.3% year-to-date.
In Akzo Nobel NV's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 9.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, B2Gold belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #18 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 45.2% this year, meaning that BTG is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Akzo Nobel NV belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry. This 28-stock industry is currently ranked #199. The industry has moved -15.6% year to date.
Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on B2Gold and Akzo Nobel NV as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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B2Gold Corp (BTG): Free Stock Analysis Report Akzo Nobel NV (AKZOY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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