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Is Green Plains (GPRE) Outperforming Other Basic Materials Stocks 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. Is Green Plains Renewable Energy (GPRE - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Green Plains Renewable Energy is one of 295 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #13 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. Green Plains Renewable Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GPRE's full-year earnings has moved 28.4% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, GPRE has returned 38.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 8.4% on average. This shows that Green Plains Renewable Energy is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Reliance (RS - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 48.8%.

The consensus estimate for Reliance's current year EPS has increased 19.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Green Plains Renewable Energy is a member of the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 48 individual companies and currently sits at #91 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 18.5% so far this year, so GPRE is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Reliance belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry. This 99-stock industry is currently ranked #176. The industry has moved +8% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to Green Plains Renewable Energy and Reliance as they could maintain their solid performance.

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