Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of CF Industries Holdings (CF Quick QuoteCF - 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.

CF Industries Holdings is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 247 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #15. 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 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. CF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CF's full-year earnings has moved 45.19% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, CF has returned 10.93% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -12.45%. This means that CF Industries Holdings is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, CF is a member of the Fertilizers industry, which includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.33% this year, meaning that CF is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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