Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is DAQO New Energy (DQ Quick QuoteDQ - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

DAQO New Energy is one of 242 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #9 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for DQ's full-year earnings has moved 13.32% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, DQ has returned 11.17% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -33.51% on a year-to-date basis. This means that DAQO New Energy is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, DQ is a member of the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 36 individual companies and currently sits at #199 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 32.01% so far this year, so DQ is performing better in this area.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track DQ. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.