The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has AngloGold Ashanti (AU) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

AngloGold Ashanti is one of 233 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #12 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 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. AngloGold Ashanti is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU's full-year earnings has moved 39.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, AU has moved about 44.8% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 7.9%. This means that AngloGold Ashanti is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is i-80 Gold (IAUX). The stock is up 24.4% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, i-80 Gold's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 23.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, AngloGold Ashanti belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 40 individual companies and currently sits at #82 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 23.4% this year, meaning that AU is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. i-80 Gold is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on AngloGold Ashanti and i-80 Gold as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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