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Is Nucor (NUE) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Nucor (NUE - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? 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.

Nucor is one of 242 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #3 within 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 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. NUE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE's full-year earnings has moved 18.99% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that NUE has returned about 0.42% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 0.21%. This means that Nucor is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Breaking things down more, NUE is a member of the Steel - Producers industry, which includes 25 individual companies and currently sits at #26 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 8.59% so far this year, meaning that NUE is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to NUE as it looks to continue its solid performance.


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