Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of United States Steel (X), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? One simple way to answer this question is to take a look at the year-to-date performance of X and the rest of the Basic Materials group's stocks.

United States Steel is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 251 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 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. X is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for X's full-year earnings has moved 69.90% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, X has gained about 68.51% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 12% on average. As we can see, United States Steel is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Looking more specifically, X belongs to the Steel – Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual stocks and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 57.05% so far this year, so X is performing better in this area.

Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to X as it looks to continue its solid performance.

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