Investors focused on the Aerospace space have likely heard of Northrop Grumman (NOC Quick QuoteNOC - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Aerospace sector should help us answer this question.

Northrop Grumman is one of 37 companies in the Aerospace group. The Aerospace group currently sits at #1 within 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 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. NOC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOC's full-year earnings has moved 2.38% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, NOC has returned 27.03% so far this year. In comparison, Aerospace companies have returned an average of 17.88%. This shows that Northrop Grumman is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Looking more specifically, NOC belongs to the Aerospace - Defense industry, which includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #66 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 16.14% so far this year, so NOC is performing better in this area.

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