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Is AngloGold Ashanti (AU) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

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Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of AngloGold Ashanti (AU - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of AU and the rest of the Basic Materials group's stocks.

AngloGold Ashanti 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 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. AU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU's full-year earnings has moved 13.20% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, AU has returned 61.28% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 6.82% on average. This means that AngloGold Ashanti is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Breaking things down more, AU is a member of the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 32 individual companies and currently sits at #22 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 46.14% so far this year, so AU is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

AU will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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