Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Newmont (NEM Quick QuoteNEM - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Newmont is one of 237 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #3 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. NEM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEM's full-year earnings has moved 1.15% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, NEM has moved about 40.83% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 4.04% on average. This means that Newmont is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, NEM is a member of the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 42 individual companies and currently sits at #89 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 6.80% so far this year, so NEM is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Basic Materials sector will want to keep a close eye on NEM as it attempts to continue its solid performance.