Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of SMURFIT KAPPA , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

SMURFIT KAPPA is one of 240 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. SMFKY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SMFKY's full-year earnings has moved 6.93% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, SMFKY has moved about 15.54% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 4.20%. This shows that SMURFIT KAPPA is outperforming its peers so far this year.

To break things down more, SMFKY belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 19 individual companies and currently sits at #28 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 0.20% this year, meaning that SMFKY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

SMFKY will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.