Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Yamana Gold (AUY), 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 AUY and the rest of the Basic Materials group’s stocks.

Yamana Gold is one of 236 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. AUY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AUY’s full-year earnings has moved 51.95% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock’s earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, AUY has gained about 48.61% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 1.94%. This means that Yamana Gold is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Breaking things down more, AUY is a member of the Mining – Gold industry, which includes 31 individual companies and currently sits at #65 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 41.06% this year, meaning that AUY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track AUY. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.

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