For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. The Mosaic (MOS) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of MOS and the rest of the Basic Materials group's stocks.

The Mosaic is one of 251 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 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 is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. MOS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MOS's full-year earnings has moved 39.90% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, MOS has gained about 35.85% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 9.08% on average. This means that The Mosaic is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, MOS belongs to the Fertilizers industry, a group that includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #10 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 15.07% so far this year, so MOS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

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

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