Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Cabot (CBT) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Basic Materials peers, we might be able to answer that question.Cabot is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 245 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #7. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. CBT is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CBT's full-year earnings has moved 23.68% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.Based on the latest available data, CBT has gained about 41.02% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 26.05% on average. This shows that Cabot is outperforming its peers so far this year.Looking more specifically, CBT belongs to the Chemical - Diversified industry, which includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #64 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 18.87% so far this year, meaning that CBT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.Going forward, investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should continue to pay close attention to CBT 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 Cabot Corporation (CBT): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research