Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Verso , 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.

Verso is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 238 different companies and currently sits at #15 in 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 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. VRS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRS's full-year earnings has moved 105.10% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, VRS has gained about 80.31% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have lost about 6.91% on average. This means that Verso is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, VRS is a member of the Paper and Related Products industry, which includes 19 individual companies and currently sits at #43 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 2.12% so far this year, so VRS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track VRS. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.