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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 DRDGOLD (DRD) 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.
DRDGOLD is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 235 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. DRDGOLD is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DRD's full-year earnings has moved 18.7% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that DRD has returned about 18.2% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -7.5%. As we can see, DRDGOLD is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Hecla Mining (HL). The stock has returned 11.6% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Hecla Mining's current year EPS has increased 27.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, DRDGOLD belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 40 individual companies and currently sits at #86 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 18.8% so far this year, so DRD is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.
In contrast, Hecla Mining falls under the Mining - Silver industry. Currently, this industry has 9 stocks and is ranked #9. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +27.8%.
Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to DRDGOLD and Hecla Mining as they could maintain their solid performance.
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DRDGOLD Limited (DRD) : Free Stock Analysis Report