Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of W.R. Grace & , 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.

W.R. Grace & is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 240 different companies and currently sits at #3 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 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. GRA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GRA's full-year earnings has moved 4.14% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, GRA has gained about 4.35% so far this year. In comparison, Basic Materials companies have returned an average of -4.20%. This means that W.R. Grace & is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, GRA belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry, which includes 30 individual stocks and currently sits at #106 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 0.77% so far this year, meaning that GRA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track GRA. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.