Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Glencore (GLNCY Quick QuoteGLNCY - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Glencore is one of 251 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. GLNCY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GLNCY's full-year earnings has moved 17.88% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, GLNCY has moved about 38.04% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 9.60%. This means that Glencore is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, GLNCY belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 47 individual stocks and currently sits at #185 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 7.50% so far this year, so GLNCY is performing better in this area.

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