Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Johnson Matthey PLC (JMPLY) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Johnson Matthey PLC is one of 242 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 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 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. Johnson Matthey PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for JMPLY's full-year earnings has moved 7.1% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, JMPLY has gained about 66.4% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 25.5%. This means that Johnson Matthey PLC is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Alamos Gold (AGI) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 88.4%.

In Alamos Gold's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Johnson Matthey PLC belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 29 individual stocks and currently sits at #233 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 16.5% so far this year, meaning that JMPLY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Alamos Gold belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. This 42-stock industry is currently ranked #48. The industry has moved +124.4% year to date.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Johnson Matthey PLC and Alamos Gold as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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