For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is DuPont de Nemours (DD) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

DuPont de Nemours is one of 235 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 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 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. DuPont de Nemours is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DD's full-year earnings has moved 0.4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, DD has gained about 7.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have lost about 0.7% on average. This means that DuPont de Nemours is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Basic Materials sector, Ecolab (ECL), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 23.3%.

The consensus estimate for Ecolab's current year EPS has increased 0.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, DuPont de Nemours belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, a group that includes 29 individual stocks and currently sits at #204 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 2.5% so far this year, so DD is performing better in this area.

Ecolab, however, belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. Currently, this 33-stock industry is ranked #142. The industry has moved -16.8% so far this year.

DuPont de Nemours and Ecolab could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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DuPont de Nemours, Inc. (DD) : Free Stock Analysis Report