Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Rio Tinto (RIO Quick QuoteRIO - 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.

Rio Tinto is one of 236 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #5 within 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. RIO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for RIO's full-year earnings has moved 50.44% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, RIO has moved about 3.66% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 0.61% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Rio Tinto is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, RIO belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #89 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 11.71% so far this year, so RIO is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Basic Materials sector will want to keep a close eye on RIO as it attempts to continue its solid performance.