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Is Veritiv (VRTV) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks This Year?

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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. Is Veritiv one of those stocks right now? 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.

Veritiv is one of 245 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. VRTV is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRTV's full-year earnings has moved 200% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, VRTV has gained about 195.43% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 25.49% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Veritiv is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, VRTV belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #45 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 26.90% so far this year, meaning that VRTV is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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

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