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 the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 251 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #14. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. VRS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for VRS's full-year earnings has moved 75.62% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, VRS has moved about 47.87% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -10.92% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Verso is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, VRS belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, which includes 18 individual stocks and currently sits at #166 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 11.09% so far this year, so VRS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to VRS as it looks to continue its solid performance.