Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Barrick Gold (GOLD Quick QuoteGOLD - Free Report) , but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Barrick Gold is one of 239 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #4 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 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. GOLD is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GOLD's full-year earnings has moved 10.87% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, GOLD has moved about 28.83% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Basic Materials stocks have lost an average of 7.89%. This shows that Barrick Gold is outperforming its peers so far this year.

To break things down more, GOLD belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 30 individual companies and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 19.20% so far this year, so GOLD is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track GOLD. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.