The Medical group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Humana (HUM Quick QuoteHUM - 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.

Humana is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 841 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 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. HUM is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HUM's full-year earnings has moved 1.22% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that HUM has returned about 4.29% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 4.24%. This means that Humana is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

To break things down more, HUM belongs to the Medical - HMOs industry, a group that includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #56 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 5.82% so far this year, so HUM is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.

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