For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (IDR) 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.

Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. is one of 232 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #14 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. Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IDR's full-year earnings has moved 1.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that IDR has returned about 46.8% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have lost about 4.8% on average. This means that Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Novozymes A/S (NVZMY). The stock has returned 7.7% year-to-date.

In Novozymes A/S's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 39 individual stocks and currently sits at #86 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 24.9% this year, meaning that IDR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Novozymes A/S belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. This 37-stock industry is currently ranked #142. The industry has moved -3% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. and Novozymes A/S as they could maintain their solid performance.

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

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