Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Nucor (NUE Quick QuoteNUE - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Nucor is one of 240 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. NUE 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 101.70% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, NUE has gained about 31.15% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 10.61%. This means that Nucor is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, NUE belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual stocks and currently sits at #6 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 19.61% this year, meaning that NUE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track NUE. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.