Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Veritiv , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? 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.

Veritiv is one of 250 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #8 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 is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. VRTV is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRTV's full-year earnings has moved 45.56% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, VRTV has returned 310.68% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 7.94%. As we can see, Veritiv is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, VRTV belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, which includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #41 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 16.29% this year, meaning that VRTV is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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