Investors focused on the Industrial Products space have likely heard of Caterpillar (CAT Quick QuoteCAT - Free Report) , 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 Industrial Products peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Caterpillar is one of 213 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #2 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 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. CAT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAT's full-year earnings has moved 17.95% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, CAT has moved about 0.85% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have lost about 4.87% on average. As we can see, Caterpillar is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

To break things down more, CAT belongs to the Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry, a group that includes 9 individual companies and currently sits at #24 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 1.15% so far this year, meaning that CAT is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Industrial Products sector will want to keep a close eye on CAT as it attempts to continue its solid performance.