Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Yamana Gold , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Yamana Gold is one of 237 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in 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 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. AUY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AUY's full-year earnings has moved 57.14% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, AUY has gained about 42.03% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 0.61% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Yamana Gold is outperforming its peers so far this year.

To break things down more, AUY belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 33 individual companies and currently sits at #115 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 35.42% so far this year, meaning that AUY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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