Investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Ameresco (AMRC Quick QuoteAMRC - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Ameresco is a member of the Oils-Energy sector. This group includes 253 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. 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. AMRC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AMRC's full-year earnings has moved 3.86% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, AMRC has returned 7.37% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Oils-Energy group have gained about 3.52% on average. This means that Ameresco is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Breaking things down more, AMRC is a member of the Alternative Energy - Other industry, which includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #132 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 8.03% so far this year, so AMRC is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors in the Oils-Energy sector will want to keep a close eye on AMRC as it attempts to continue its solid performance.