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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Silver Standard Resources (SSRM) 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. SSR Mining (SSRM - Free Report) 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.

SSR Mining is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 239 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. SSR Mining is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SSRM's full-year earnings has moved 5.2% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, SSRM has moved about 6.1% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 2.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that SSR Mining 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 VALE S.A. (VALE - Free Report) . The stock is up 6.5% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, VALE S.A.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, SSR Mining belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 49 individual stocks and currently sits at #53 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 10.3% so far this year, so SSRM is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

VALE S.A. however, belongs to the Mining - Iron industry. Currently, this 2-stock industry is ranked #2. The industry has moved +36.9% so far this year.

SSR Mining and VALE S.A. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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