Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Sylvamo Corporation (SLVM) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Sylvamo Corporation is one of 236 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #15 within 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. Sylvamo Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SLVM's full-year earnings has moved 9.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, SLVM has gained about 72.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 0.8% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Sylvamo Corporation is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Basic Materials stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Vizsla Silver Corp. (VZLA). The stock is up 63.2% year-to-date.

For Vizsla Silver Corp. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 19.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Sylvamo Corporation belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #63 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 12.6% so far this year, so SLVM is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Vizsla Silver Corp. belongs to the Mining - Silver industry. This 10-stock industry is currently ranked #146. The industry has moved +39% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Sylvamo Corporation and Vizsla Silver Corp. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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