The Finance group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Blackstone Group IncThe (BX) 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Finance sector should help us answer this question.Blackstone Group IncThe is a member of the Finance sector. This group includes 898 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 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. BX is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BX's full-year earnings has moved 20.73% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.Our latest available data shows that BX has returned about 2.70% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Finance stocks have lost an average of 13%. This shows that Blackstone Group IncThe is outperforming its peers so far this year.To break things down more, BX belongs to the Financial - Investment Management industry, a group that includes 48 individual companies and currently sits at #81 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7.36% so far this year, meaning that BX is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.Going forward, investors interested in Finance stocks should continue to pay close attention to BX as it looks to continue its solid performance.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 Blackstone Group IncThe (BX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.