Investors focused on the Retail-Wholesale space have likely heard of Advance Auto Parts (AAP Quick QuoteAAP - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of AAP and the rest of the Retail-Wholesale group's stocks.

Advance Auto Parts is one of 222 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. AAP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AAP's full-year earnings has moved 2.12% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that AAP has returned about 57.95% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Retail-Wholesale stocks have an average of 0%. As we can see, Advance Auto Parts is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Breaking things down more, AAP is a member of the Automotive - Retail and Wholesale - Parts industry, which includes 5 individual companies and currently sits at #10 in the Zacks Industry Rank.

Investors with an interest in Retail-Wholesale stocks should continue to track AAP. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.