Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Harmony Gold (HMY) 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.
Harmony Gold is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 237 different companies and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Harmony Gold is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HMY's full-year earnings has moved 5.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that HMY has returned about 28% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -0.9%. This means that Harmony Gold is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Innospec (IOSP), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 0.9%.
Over the past three months, Innospec's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Harmony Gold belongs to the Mining – Gold industry, a group that includes 41 individual stocks and currently sits at #144 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 1.5% so far this year, so HMY is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Innospec falls under the Chemical – Diversified industry. Currently, this industry has 29 stocks and is ranked #210. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -1.3%.
Harmony Gold and Innospec could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (HMY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Innospec Inc. (IOSP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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