Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of United States Steel (X Quick QuoteX - 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.

United States Steel is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 251 different companies and currently sits at #6 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. X is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for X's full-year earnings has moved 65.02% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, X has moved about 60.64% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have gained an average of 12.07%. As we can see, United States Steel is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Breaking things down more, X is a member of the Steel - Producers industry, which includes 24 individual companies and currently sits at #24 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 53.38% this year, meaning that X is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

X will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.