Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has The Mosaic (MOS Quick QuoteMOS - 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.

The Mosaic is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 247 different companies and currently sits at #14 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. MOS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MOS's full-year earnings has moved 12.64% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, MOS has returned 27.75% so far this year. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 11.04%. This shows that The Mosaic is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Looking more specifically, MOS belongs to the Fertilizers industry, a group that includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #28 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 4.48% so far this year, meaning that MOS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

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