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Is Gerdau (GGB) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers 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. Gerdau (GGB - 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.

Gerdau is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 249 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #8. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Gerdau is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GGB's full-year earnings has moved 9.3% 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, GGB has returned 27.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 16.7% on average. This shows that Gerdau is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Materion (MTRN - 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 83%.

Over the past three months, Materion's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Gerdau belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #64 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 47.9% so far this year, meaning that GGB is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

Materion, however, belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 72-stock industry is ranked #161. The industry has moved +28.4% so far this year.

Gerdau and Materion 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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