Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Materion (MTRN Quick QuoteMTRN - Free Report) , 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.

Materion is one of 235 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MTRN's full-year earnings has moved 2.76% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, MTRN has gained about 6.76% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of 21.34%. This means that Materion is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, MTRN belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #192 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 29.11% so far this year, so MTRN is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Basic Materials sector will want to keep a close eye on MTRN as it attempts to continue its solid performance.