Investors focused on the Finance space have likely heard of Ally Financial (ALLY Quick QuoteALLY - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? 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.

Ally Financial is one of 888 individual stocks in the Finance sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 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. ALLY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ALLY's full-year earnings has moved 17.17% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, ALLY has gained about 7.60% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of 3.69%. As we can see, Ally Financial is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Breaking things down more, ALLY is a member of the Financial - Consumer Loans industry, which includes 22 individual companies and currently sits at #98 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 6.71% so far this year, so ALLY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

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