Is Nexa Resources (NEXA) Stock Outpacing Its Basic Materials Peers This Year?

The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Nexa Resources S.A. (NEXA) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.Nexa Resources S.A. is one of 248 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #9 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.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. Nexa Resources S.A. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NEXA's full-year earnings has moved 57.6% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.Our latest available data shows that NEXA has returned about 36.8% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 7.4%. This shows that Nexa Resources S.A. is outperforming its peers so far this year.Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Sensient Technologies (SXT). The stock has returned 27.5% year-to-date.The consensus estimate for Sensient Technologies' current year EPS has increased 5.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Breaking things down more, Nexa Resources S.A. is a member of the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 72 individual companies and currently sits at #159 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 16.2% this year, meaning that NEXA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. In contrast, Sensient Technologies falls under the Chemical - Specialty industry. Currently, this industry has 44 stocks and is ranked #112. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +9.3%.Investors interested in the Basic Materials sector may want to keep a close eye on Nexa Resources S.A. and Sensient Technologies as they attempt to continue their solid performance.7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 DaysJust released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops."Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +23.7% per year. So be sure to give these hand picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks