The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has UnitedHealth Group (UNH Quick QuoteUNH - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

UnitedHealth Group is one of 845 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UNH's full-year earnings has moved 0.74% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, UNH has gained about 23.55% so far this year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 2.99%. This shows that UnitedHealth Group is outperforming its peers so far this year.

To break things down more, UNH belongs to the Medical - HMOs industry, a group that includes 13 individual companies and currently sits at #58 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 24.48% so far this year, so UNH is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

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