For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Hecla Mining (HL) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Hecla Mining is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 235 different companies and currently sits at #8 in 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 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. Hecla Mining is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HL's full-year earnings has moved 25% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, HL has moved about 4.1% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 12%. This means that Hecla Mining is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Franco-Nevada (FNV). The stock has returned 2.7% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Franco-Nevada's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Hecla Mining belongs to the Mining - Silver industry, which includes 9 individual stocks and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 26.3% this year, meaning that HL is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Franco-Nevada belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. This 40-stock industry is currently ranked #147. The industry has moved +8.5% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Hecla Mining and Franco-Nevada as they could maintain their solid performance.

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