Investors focused on the Finance space have likely heard of Realty Income (O Quick QuoteO - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Finance peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Realty Income is one of 845 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #8 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for O's full-year earnings has moved 0.06% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that O has returned about 27.16% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Finance sector has returned an average of 17.17% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Realty Income is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, O is a member of the REIT and Equity Trust - Retail industry, which includes 28 individual companies and currently sits at #96 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 22.21% so far this year, so O is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

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