Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Barrick Gold (GOLD) 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.
Barrick Gold is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 236 different companies and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Barrick Gold is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GOLD's full-year earnings has moved 17.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, GOLD has moved about 14.4% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 0.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Barrick Gold is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Blachem (BCPC). The stock is up 16.8% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Blachem's current year EPS has increased 2.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Barrick Gold belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 37 individual stocks and currently sits at #62 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 31.5% so far this year, so GOLD is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.
Blachem, however, belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. Currently, this 33-stock industry is ranked #208. The industry has moved -15.8% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Barrick Gold and Blachem as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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