Investors focused on the Oils-Energy space have likely heard of Occidental Petroleum (OXY Quick QuoteOXY - 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.

Occidental Petroleum is a member of the Oils-Energy sector. This group includes 257 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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 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. OXY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OXY's full-year earnings has moved 550.49% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that OXY has returned about 101.10% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Oils-Energy stocks have gained an average of 39.36%. This means that Occidental Petroleum is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, OXY belongs to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - United States industry, which includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #48 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 97.77% this year, meaning that OXY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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