The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Nasdaq (NDAQ Quick QuoteNDAQ - 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.

Nasdaq is one of 883 companies in the Finance group. The Finance group currently sits at #14 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. NDAQ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NDAQ's full-year earnings has moved 1.80% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, NDAQ has gained about 10.74% so far this year. In comparison, Finance companies have returned an average of -19.01%. This means that Nasdaq is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, NDAQ belongs to the Securities and Exchanges industry, a group that includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #28 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 0.22% so far this year, so NDAQ is performing better in this area.

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