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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. Has Nucor (NUE - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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 242 different companies and currently sits at #5 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 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. Nucor is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE's full-year earnings has moved 19.2% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, NUE has moved about 18.4% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 6.6%. This means that Nucor is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, AdvanSix (ASIX - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 8.7%.

For AdvanSix, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 58.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Nucor belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 23 individual stocks and currently sits at #34 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 10.1% so far this year, meaning that NUE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

AdvanSix, however, belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. Currently, this 35-stock industry is ranked #166. The industry has moved -17.8% so far this year.

Nucor and AdvanSix 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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