The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Ladder Capital (LADR Quick QuoteLADR - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.

Ladder Capital is one of 813 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #10 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. LADR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LADR's full-year earnings has moved 8.88% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, LADR has returned 23.11% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of -1.96% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Ladder Capital is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, LADR is a member of the REIT and Equity Trust industry, which includes 29 individual companies and currently sits at #103 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 4.44% so far this year, so LADR is performing better in this area.

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