For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is McEwen (MUX) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

McEwen is one of 235 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #9 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. McEwen is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MUX's full-year earnings has moved 72.7% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, MUX has moved about 5.1% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 12.4%. This means that McEwen is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Equinox Gold (EQX), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 3.4%.

Over the past three months, Equinox Gold's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, McEwen belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 60 individual companies and currently sits at #91 in the Zacks Industry Rank.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

McEwen Mining Inc. (MUX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Equinox Gold Corp. (EQX) : Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research