Agnico Eagle Mines Limited AEM delivered net income of $37 million or 16 cents per share in first-quarter 2019, down from $44.9 million or 19 cents in the year-ago quarter.Barring one-time items, adjusted earnings per share came in at 14 cents, which beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cents.Agnico Eagle generated revenues worth $532.2 million, down around 8% year over year. The decline was primarily caused by 3.5% fall in gold sales volume along with lower realized gold price. Nevertheless, the figure surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $513 million.Agnico Eagle Mines Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Agnico Eagle Mines Limited Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Agnico Eagle Mines Limited QuoteOperational HighlightsGold production rose 2.3% year over year to 398,217 ounces. Total cash costs per ounce were $623, down roughly 3.9% from $648 in the prior-year quarter.All-in sustaining costs (AISC) were $836 per ounce, down 6% from the prior-year quarter’s figure of $889.Financial PositionAs of Mar 31, 2019, cash and cash equivalents were around $190 million, down from around $452.3 million a year ago.Long-term debt was $1,722 million at the end of the first quarter.Total cash from operating activities amounted to $148.7 million in the reported quarter, down 28.4% year over year. OutlookAgnico Eagle reaffirmed production and cost guidance for 2019. Gold production for the year is projected at 1.75 million ounces. The projection includes pre-commercial production from Meliadine of roughly 60,000 ounces of gold and Amaruq of roughly 40,000 ounces of gold.Total cash costs per ounce are projected between $620 and $670. AISC is expected in the range of $875-$925 per ounce.The company expects roughly 55% of expected gold production for 2019 to materialize in the second half of the year.Price PerformanceAgnico Eagle’s shares have lost 2.6% in the past year compared with the industry’s 3.7% decline. Zacks Rank & Key PicksAgnico Eagle currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Sandstorm Gold Ltd. SAND, Flexible Solutions International Inc FSI and Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. RS.Sandstorm Gold has an expected earnings growth rate of 200% for the current year and sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). The company’s shares have gained around 9.2% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Flexible Solutions has an expected earnings growth rate of 171.4% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares have surged roughly 100% in the past year.Reliance Steel has an expected earnings growth rate of 2.4% for the current year and carries a Zacks Rank #2. Its shares have gained around 3.1% in the past year.Zacks' Top 10 Stocks for 2019In addition to the stocks discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 finest buy-and-holds for the year?Who wouldn't? Our annual Top 10s have beaten the market with amazing regularity. In 2018, while the market dropped -5.2%, the portfolio scored well into double-digits overall with individual stocks rising as high as +61.5%. And from 2012-2017, while the market boomed +126.3, Zacks' Top 10s reached an even more sensational +181.9%.See Latest Stocks Today >>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 Flexible Solutions International Inc. (FSI): Free Stock Analysis Report Sandstorm Gold Ltd (SAND): Free Stock Analysis Report Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM): Free Stock Analysis Report Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. (RS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research