The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Hecla Mining (HL) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Hecla Mining is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 233 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. 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 #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HL's full-year earnings has moved 14.8% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, HL has returned 19.8% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 7.2% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Hecla Mining is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

DRDGOLD (DRD) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 28.7%.

The consensus estimate for DRDGOLD's current year EPS has increased 18.7% over the past three months. 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 #11 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 16.7% so far this year, so HL is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, DRDGOLD belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. This 40-stock industry is currently ranked #85. The industry has moved +21.8% year to date.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Hecla Mining and DRDGOLD as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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