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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Harmony Gold (HMY) 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. Is Harmony Gold (HMY - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Harmony Gold is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 233 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. Harmony Gold is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HMY's full-year earnings has moved 3.7% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, HMY has gained about 75.2% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 8.7%. As we can see, Harmony Gold is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Fresnillo PLC (FNLPF - 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 149.8%.

Over the past three months, Fresnillo PLC's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 30.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Harmony Gold belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #50 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 55.4% so far this year, meaning that HMY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Fresnillo PLC belongs to the Mining - Silver industry. This 9-stock industry is currently ranked #24. The industry has moved +34.7% year to date.

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

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