Investors focused on the Consumer Discretionary space have likely heard of American Public Education (APEI Quick QuoteAPEI - 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.

American Public Education is a member of our Consumer Discretionary group, which includes 245 different companies and currently sits at #9 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. APEI is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APEI's full-year earnings has moved 6.77% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, APEI has gained about 76.65% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Discretionary stocks have gained an average of 7.82%. This means that American Public Education is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Looking more specifically, APEI belongs to the Schools industry, which includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #107 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 6.47% so far this year, meaning that APEI is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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