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Is Nucor (NUE) 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. 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 the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 295 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. 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 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).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NUE's full-year earnings has moved 8.8% higher. 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 67.7% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 4%. This shows that Nucor is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Teck Resources Ltd (TECK - 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 29.1%.

For Teck Resources Ltd, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 7.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Nucor belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #113 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 38.9% so far this year, so NUE is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Teck Resources Ltd falls under the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 99 stocks and is ranked #161. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +2.4%.

Nucor and Teck Resources Ltd 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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