Investors focused on the Consumer Discretionary space have likely heard of Whirlpool (WHR Quick QuoteWHR - 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.

Whirlpool is one of 238 companies in the Consumer Discretionary group. The Consumer Discretionary group currently sits at #10 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WHR's full-year earnings has moved 22.91% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, WHR has gained about 36.63% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Discretionary companies have returned an average of -0.30%. This means that Whirlpool is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, WHR is a member of the Household Appliances industry, which includes 6 individual companies and currently sits at #52 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 35.30% so far this year, so WHR is performing better in this area.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Discretionary stocks should continue to pay close attention to WHR as it looks to continue its solid performance.