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Is Nucor (NUE) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks 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. 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Nucor is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 247 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #6. 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 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. Nucor is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE's full-year earnings has moved 18.5% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, NUE has returned 7.5% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 0.4%. As we can see, Nucor is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Ryerson Holding (RYI - Free Report) is another Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 2.9%.

In Ryerson Holding's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 11.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Nucor belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 23 individual companies and currently sits at #39 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 4.6% so far this year, so NUE is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Ryerson Holding is also part of the same industry.

Nucor and Ryerson Holding could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


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