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Is AngloGold Ashanti (AU) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of AngloGold Ashanti (AU - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

AngloGold Ashanti is one of 236 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #6 within 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 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. AU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU's full-year earnings has moved 6.99% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, AU has gained about 17.14% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 1.41% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that AngloGold Ashanti is outperforming its peers so far this year.

To break things down more, AU belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 32 individual companies and currently sits at #112 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 40.94% so far this year, so AU is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

Investors in the Basic Materials sector will want to keep a close eye on AU as it attempts to continue its solid performance.


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