The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has AdvanSix (ASIX) 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.

AdvanSix is one of 235 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #15 in 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. AdvanSix is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASIX's full-year earnings has moved 37% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, ASIX has moved about 2.6% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 2.2%. This shows that AdvanSix is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM). The stock is up 48.8% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Agnico Eagle Mines' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 19.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, AdvanSix belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, a group that includes 33 individual companies and currently sits at #210 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 15.6% so far this year, so ASIX is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Agnico Eagle Mines falls under the Mining - Gold industry. Currently, this industry has 38 stocks and is ranked #94. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +28.3%.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on AdvanSix and Agnico Eagle Mines as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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AdvanSix (ASIX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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