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Has AngloGold Ashanti (AU) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has AngloGold Ashanti (AU - Free Report) 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.

AngloGold Ashanti is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 237 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. AU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU's full-year earnings has moved 13.46% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that AU has returned about 4.30% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -0.89%. This shows that AngloGold Ashanti is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Breaking things down more, AU is a member of the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 33 individual companies and currently sits at #159 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 29.29% so far this year, so AU is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

AU will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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