Investors interested in Basic Materials stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Aluminum (ACH) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.Aluminum is a member of the Basic Materials sector. This group includes 252 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. 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. Aluminum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ACH's full-year earnings has moved 27.7% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.Our latest available data shows that ACH has returned about 52.2% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 7.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Aluminum is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.Another Basic Materials stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is AdvanSix (ASIX). The stock has returned 140.4% year-to-date.In AdvanSix's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 14.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).To break things down more, Aluminum belongs to the Mining - Non Ferrous industry, a group that includes 10 individual companies and currently sits at #163 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 18.7% so far this year, so ACH is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.On the other hand, AdvanSix belongs to the Chemical - Specialty industry. This 37-stock industry is currently ranked #153. The industry has moved +10% year to date.Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track Aluminum and AdvanSix. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance. 5 Stocks Set to Double Each was handpicked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2021. Previous recommendations have soared +143.0%, +175.9%, +498.3% and +673.0%. Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>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 Aluminum Corporation of China Limited (ACH): Free Stock Analysis Report AdvanSix (ASIX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.