Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Nucor (NUE Quick QuoteNUE - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Nucor is one of 251 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 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. NUE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE's full-year earnings has moved 65.92% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, NUE has gained about 94.49% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 22.09%. This shows that Nucor is outperforming its peers so far this year.

To break things down more, NUE belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual companies and currently sits at #15 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 57.23% so far this year, meaning that NUE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track NUE. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.