For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Polymetal International PLC Sponsored one of those stocks right now? 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.

Polymetal International PLC Sponsored is one of 242 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #9 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. AUCOY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AUCOY's full-year earnings has moved 4.20% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, AUCOY has returned 0.97% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -29.33%. As we can see, Polymetal International PLC Sponsored is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

To break things down more, AUCOY belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 43 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank.

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