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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Aura Minerals Inc. (AUGO) 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. Aura Minerals (AUGO - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Aura Minerals is one of 248 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #13 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Aura Minerals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AUGO's full-year earnings has moved 48.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, AUGO has returned 116.5% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 20.5%. This means that Aura Minerals is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Materion (MTRN - Free Report) . The stock has returned 46.4% year-to-date.

In Materion's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 0.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Aura Minerals is a member of the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 72 individual companies and currently sits at #146 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 26.4% so far this year, meaning that AUGO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Materion is also part of the same industry.

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

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