Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Cosan , 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 Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.

Cosan is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 248 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #14. 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. CZZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CZZ's full-year earnings has moved 16.78% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, CZZ has gained about 50.57% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 15.02% on average. As we can see, Cosan is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

To break things down more, CZZ belongs to the Agriculture - Products industry, a group that includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #38 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 12.72% so far this year, so CZZ is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

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