The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Nasdaq (NDAQ Quick QuoteNDAQ - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Finance peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Nasdaq is one of 886 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #12 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. NDAQ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NDAQ's full-year earnings has moved 1.67% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, NDAQ has gained about 6.43% so far this year. At the same time, Finance stocks have lost an average of 25.74%. This means that Nasdaq is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, NDAQ belongs to the Securities and Exchanges industry, a group that includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #11 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 1.37% so far this year, meaning that NDAQ is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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