Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Commercial Metals (CMC) 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.

Commercial Metals is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 247 different companies and currently sits at #5 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 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. Commercial Metals is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CMC's full-year earnings has moved 6.7% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, CMC has gained about 4.3% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 3.8%. This means that Commercial Metals is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Golden Minerals (AUMN). The stock has returned 11.7% year-to-date.

For Golden Minerals, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 100% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Commercial Metals is a member of the Steel - Producers industry, which includes 23 individual companies and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 6.5% so far this year, so CMC is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

On the other hand, Golden Minerals belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. This 51-stock industry is currently ranked #83. The industry has moved +8.1% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Commercial Metals and Golden Minerals as they could maintain their solid performance.

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