For those looking to find strong Medical stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has HCA Healthcare (HCA Quick QuoteHCA - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

HCA Healthcare is a member of the Medical sector. This group includes 818 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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. HCA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HCA's full-year earnings has moved 4.61% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, HCA has moved about 50.76% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Medical companies have returned an average of 2.71%. As we can see, HCA Healthcare is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Breaking things down more, HCA is a member of the Medical - Hospital industry, which includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #52 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 31.76% so far this year, so HCA is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

HCA will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.