Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Asanko Gold (GAU Quick QuoteGAU - Free Report) , 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.

Asanko Gold is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 236 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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. GAU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GAU's full-year earnings has moved 40.74% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, GAU has returned 64.21% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -4.17% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Asanko Gold is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Breaking things down more, GAU is a member of the Mining - Gold industry, which includes 31 individual companies and currently sits at #92 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 34.49% so far this year, so GAU is performing better in this area.

GAU 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.