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Is Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) 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. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM - 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.

Agnico Eagle Mines is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 232 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. 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 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. Agnico Eagle Mines is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEM's full-year earnings has moved 34.5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, AEM has gained about 54.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 7.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Agnico Eagle Mines is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Dundee Precious Metals Inc. (DPMLF - 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 68.4%.

In Dundee Precious Metals Inc.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 37.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Agnico Eagle Mines belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 39 individual stocks and currently sits at #42 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 54.4% so far this year, meaning that AEM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Dundee Precious Metals Inc. is also part of the same industry.

Agnico Eagle Mines and Dundee Precious Metals Inc. 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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