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Is Linde (LIN) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers 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. Has Linde (LIN - 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.

Linde is one of 238 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #12 within 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Linde is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for LIN's full-year earnings has moved 4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that LIN has returned about 6.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 3.7% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Linde is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Nucor (NUE - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 23.3%.

In Nucor's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 11.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Linde belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 34 individual stocks and currently sits at #159 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 5.5% so far this year, meaning that LIN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Nucor falls under the Steel - Producers industry. Currently, this industry has 22 stocks and is ranked #33. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +16.5%.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Linde and Nucor as they could maintain their solid performance.


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