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Is Iamgold (IAG) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Iamgold (IAG - Free Report) 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.

Iamgold is one of 241 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 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. Iamgold is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IAG's full-year earnings has moved 215.9% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that IAG has returned about 56.1% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 0.4% on average. This means that Iamgold is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

New Gold (NGD - Free Report) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 50%.

Over the past three months, New Gold's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 133.3%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Iamgold belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 40 individual stocks and currently sits at #11 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 14.2% so far this year, meaning that IAG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. New Gold is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Iamgold and New Gold as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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