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Is Yamana Gold (AUY) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Yamana Gold 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Yamana Gold is one of 244 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #16 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 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. Yamana Gold is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AUY's full-year earnings has moved 1.2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, AUY has gained about 6.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have lost about 14.2% on average. This means that Yamana Gold is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Brigham Minerals . The stock is up 38.1% year-to-date.

In Brigham Minerals' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 4.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Yamana Gold is a member of the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 40 individual companies and currently sits at #206 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 17.9% so far this year, meaning that AUY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Brigham Minerals, however, belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 50-stock industry is ranked #83. The industry has moved -13.8% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Yamana Gold and Brigham Minerals as they could maintain their solid performance.

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