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Is Verso (VRS) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Verso 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? 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.

Verso is one of 250 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #14 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 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. VRS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRS's full-year earnings has moved 75.62% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, VRS has returned 22.77% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 20.41%. This means that Verso is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, VRS belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, which includes 18 individual stocks and currently sits at #204 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 23.60% this year, meaning that VRS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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

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