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The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Axalta Coating Systems (AXTA) 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.

Axalta Coating Systems is one of 235 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 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 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. Axalta Coating Systems is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AXTA's full-year earnings has moved 5% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AXTA has moved about 12.1% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -0.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Axalta Coating Systems is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (IDR), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 111.5%.

For Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 185.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Axalta Coating Systems belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 33 individual stocks and currently sits at #137 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 13% so far this year, so AXTA is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. belongs to the Mining - Gold industry. This 38-stock industry is currently ranked #17. The industry has moved +24.3% year to date.

Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Axalta Coating Systems and Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

Zacks Investment Research

Idaho Strategic Resources, Inc. (IDR) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.15 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.21 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.03 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -28.57%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this company would post earnings of $0.07 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.17, delivering a surprise of 142.86%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates two times.

Idaho Strategic Resources, which belongs to the Zacks Mining - Gold industry, posted revenues of $6.15 million for the quarter ended September 2024, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 16.85%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $3.3 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock's immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management's commentary on the earnings call.

Idaho Strategic Resources shares have added about 151.6% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500's gain of 20.1%.

What's Next for Idaho Strategic Resources?

While Idaho Strategic Resources has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors' minds is: what's next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company's earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for Idaho Strategic Resources: favorable. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company's just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to outperform the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.22 on $7.7 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $0.77 on $27.1 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Mining - Gold is currently in the top 6% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Kinross Gold (KGC), another stock in the same industry, has yet to report results for the quarter ended September 2024. The results are expected to be released on November 5.

This gold mining company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.18 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of +50%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has been revised 1.5% lower over the last 30 days to the current level.

Kinross Gold's revenues are expected to be $1.19 billion, up 7.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Zacks Investment Research

Idaho Strategic Resources IDR is expected to register year-over-year improvements in the top and bottom lines when it reports third-quarter 2024 results next week. This is expected to have been driven by the uptrend in gold prices throughout the quarter and higher production levels.

Stay up-to-date with all quarterly releases: See Zacks Earnings Calendar.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Idaho Strategics’ earnings for the third quarter is pegged at 21 cents per share, suggesting a substantial improvement from the 3 cents reported in the third quarter of 2023. The estimate has moved up 5% over the past 60 days.