The Aerospace group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Northrop Grumman (NOC Quick QuoteNOC - 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.

Northrop Grumman is a member of the Aerospace sector. This group includes 34 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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. NOC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NOC's full-year earnings has moved 1.22% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, NOC has gained about 43.94% so far this year. In comparison, Aerospace companies have returned an average of 25.95%. As we can see, Northrop Grumman is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, NOC belongs to the Aerospace - Defense industry, a group that includes 11 individual stocks and currently sits at #63 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 23.70% so far this year, so NOC is performing better in this area.

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