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Are Basic Materials Stocks Lagging Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM - 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? 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.

Agnico Eagle Mines is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 238 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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 proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Agnico Eagle Mines is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEM's full-year earnings has moved 19.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that AEM has returned about 73.4% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 13.5%. This shows that Agnico Eagle Mines is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Mosaic (MOS - Free Report) . The stock has returned 30.1% year-to-date.

For Mosaic, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 30.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Agnico Eagle Mines is a member of the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 72.5% so far this year, so AEM is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Mosaic belongs to the Fertilizers industry. This 6-stock industry is currently ranked #15. The industry has moved +16.5% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Agnico Eagle Mines and Mosaic. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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