For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Rio Tinto (RIO) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.Rio Tinto is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 238 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #15. 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. RIO is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RIO's full-year earnings has moved 46.27% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.Our latest available data shows that RIO has returned about 15.51% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 11.10% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Rio Tinto is outperforming its peers so far this year.Looking more specifically, RIO belongs to the Mining - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 39 individual stocks and currently sits at #70 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 15.79% so far this year, so RIO is slightly underperforming its industry in this area.RIO will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Rio Tinto PLC (RIO): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research