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Is Gold Fields Limited (GFI) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers 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. Gold Fields (GFI - 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.

Gold Fields is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 236 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Gold Fields is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GFI's full-year earnings has moved 3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, GFI has moved about 47.7% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 1.4%. This means that Gold Fields is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Linde (LIN - Free Report) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 13.9%.

In Linde's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 3.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Gold Fields belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 37 individual companies and currently sits at #69 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 15.8% so far this year, meaning that GFI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Linde belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. This 34-stock industry is currently ranked #200. The industry has moved +10.5% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Gold Fields and Linde. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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