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Is Southern Copper (SCCO) 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. Southern Copper (SCCO - 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.

Southern Copper is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 294 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #11. 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 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. Southern Copper is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SCCO's full-year earnings has moved 5.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that SCCO has returned about 35.2% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 7.9%. As we can see, Southern Copper is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, South32 Ltd. (SOUHY - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 33.6%.

In South32 Ltd.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 3.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Southern Copper is a member of the Mining - Non Ferrous industry, which includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #98 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 18.8% so far this year, meaning that SCCO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

South32 Ltd., however, belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 99-stock industry is ranked #161. The industry has moved +8.6% so far this year.

Southern Copper and South32 Ltd. 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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