For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Nucor (NUE) 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? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of NUE and the rest of the Basic Materials group's stocks.Nucor is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 245 different companies and currently sits at #7 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. 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 89.12% 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 99.87% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 25.33%. As we can see, Nucor is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Looking more specifically, NUE belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, which includes 24 individual stocks and currently sits at #25 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 51.72% this year, meaning that NUE is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.NUE will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Nucor Corporation (NUE): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research