Investors focused on the Medical space have likely heard of Centene (CNC Quick QuoteCNC - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Medical sector should help us answer this question.

Centene is one of 842 individual stocks in the Medical sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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 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. CNC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNC's full-year earnings has moved 1.26% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, CNC has gained about 2.71% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Medical group have gained about 2.08% on average. This shows that Centene is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Breaking things down more, CNC is a member of the Medical - HMOs industry, which includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #43 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 1.60% so far this year, so CNC is performing better in this area.

Going forward, investors interested in Medical stocks should continue to pay close attention to CNC as it looks to continue its solid performance.