Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Rio Tinto (RIO), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? 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.
Rio Tinto is one of 236 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #3 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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. RIO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for RIO’s full-year earnings has moved 17.45% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, RIO has returned 2.54% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 0.32%. As we can see, Rio Tinto is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Looking more specifically, RIO belongs to the Mining – Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7.48% so far this year, meaning that RIO is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
RIO 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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