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

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For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Nucor (NUE - Free Report) 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.

Nucor is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 251 different companies and currently sits at #7 in 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 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. NUE is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE's full-year earnings has moved 60.79% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, NUE has returned 121.02% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 11.94%. As we can see, Nucor is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, NUE belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual stocks and currently sits at #22 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 53.44% this year, meaning that NUE 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 NUE as it looks to continue its solid performance.


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