Investors focused on the Finance space have likely heard of Morgan Stanley (MS Quick QuoteMS - 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.

Morgan Stanley is one of 898 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #5 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MS's full-year earnings has moved 22.27% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, MS has gained about 28.54% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Finance group have gained about 18.38% on average. This means that Morgan Stanley is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Breaking things down more, MS is a member of the Financial - Investment Bank industry, which includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #43 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 32.96% so far this year, so MS is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

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