Investors focused on the Finance space have likely heard of Saratoga Investment (SAR Quick QuoteSAR - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.

Saratoga Investment is one of 826 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #10 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. SAR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SAR's full-year earnings has moved 3.33% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, SAR has moved about 10.60% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Finance stocks have lost an average of 3.11%. This shows that Saratoga Investment is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Looking more specifically, SAR belongs to the Financial - SBIC & Commercial Industry industry, which includes 35 individual stocks and currently sits at #89 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 8.27% so far this year, so SAR is performing better in this area.

SAR will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.