Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Anglo American (NGLOY) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Anglo American is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 294 different companies and currently sits at #14 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 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. Anglo American is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NGLOY's full-year earnings has moved 5.8% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, NGLOY has moved about 33.4% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 10.5%. This means that Anglo American is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, South32 Ltd. (SOUHY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 46.6%.

The consensus estimate for South32 Ltd.'s current year EPS has increased 24.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Anglo American belongs to the Mining – Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 99 individual stocks and currently sits at #188 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 16% so far this year, meaning that NGLOY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. South32 Ltd. is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Anglo American and South32 Ltd. as they could maintain their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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