For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Intrepid Potash (IPI) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.

Intrepid Potash is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 232 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #15. 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Intrepid Potash is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IPI's full-year earnings has moved 64.4% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, IPI has gained about 13.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -9.3% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Intrepid Potash 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 Osisko Gold Royalties (OR). The stock has returned 6.3% year-to-date.

For Osisko Gold Royalties, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Intrepid Potash belongs to the Fertilizers industry, which includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #24 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 5.2% so far this year, so IPI is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Osisko Gold Royalties belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. This 39-stock industry is currently ranked #149. The industry has moved +24.9% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Intrepid Potash and Osisko Gold Royalties. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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

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