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Is AngloGold Ashanti (AU) 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. AngloGold Ashanti (AU - Free Report) 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? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of AU and the rest of the Basic Materials group's stocks.

AngloGold Ashanti is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 248 different companies and currently sits at #9 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. AU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU's full-year earnings has moved 13.20% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, AU has returned 51.08% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 14.55%. 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 #16 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 39.12% so far this year, meaning that AU is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

AU will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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