Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR (FUPBY) 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.

FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR is one of 232 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FUPBY's full-year earnings has moved 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, FUPBY has returned 5.5% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 3.4%. This means that FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Steel Dynamics (STLD). The stock has returned 3% year-to-date.

For Steel Dynamics, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 37 individual stocks and currently sits at #162 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 5.1% so far this year, so FUPBY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Steel Dynamics belongs to the Steel - Producers industry. This 18-stock industry is currently ranked #79. The industry has moved -1.3% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to FUCHS SE - Unsponsored ADR and Steel Dynamics as they could maintain their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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