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Has Nucor (NUE) Outpaced 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Nucor is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 240 different companies and currently sits at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. NUE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE's full-year earnings has moved 30.30% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, NUE has returned 0.46% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -3.78%. This means that Nucor is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, NUE belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 25 individual stocks and currently sits at #62 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 1.72% this year, meaning that NUE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

NUE will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.


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