The Retail-Wholesale group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Costco Wholesale (COST Quick QuoteCOST - 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.

Costco Wholesale is one of 216 individual stocks in the Retail-Wholesale sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 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. COST is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for COST's full-year earnings has moved 1.69% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, COST has returned 3.84% so far this year. At the same time, Retail-Wholesale stocks have lost an average of 16.31%. As we can see, Costco Wholesale is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, COST belongs to the Retail - Discount Stores industry, which includes 9 individual stocks and currently sits at #209 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 17.01% so far this year, so COST is performing better in this area.

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