Has Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) Outpaced Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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) 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.Agnico Eagle Mines is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 232 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #11. 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 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. Agnico Eagle Mines is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AEM's full-year earnings has moved 9.6% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.Based on the latest available data, AEM has gained about 55.4% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 1.8%. This means that Agnico Eagle Mines is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Salzgitter AG (SZGPY). The stock is up 54.3% year-to-date.For Salzgitter AG, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 325% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Looking more specifically, Agnico Eagle Mines belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 39 individual stocks and currently sits at #149 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 52.2% this year, meaning that AEM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.In contrast, Salzgitter AG falls under the Steel - Producers industry. Currently, this industry has 18 stocks and is ranked #65. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -3.5%.Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Agnico Eagle Mines and Salzgitter AG as they could maintain their solid performance.Zacks Names #1 Semiconductor StockIt's only 1/9,000th the size of NVIDIA which skyrocketed more than +800% since we recommended it. NVIDIA is still strong, but our new top chip stock has much more room to boom.With strong earnings growth and an expanding customer base, it's positioned to feed the rampant demand for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Internet of Things. Global semiconductor manufacturing is projected to explode from $452 billion in 2021 to $803 billion by 2028.See This Stock Now for Free >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM): Free Stock Analysis Report Salzgitter AG (SZGPY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks