Investors focused on the Basic Materials space have likely heard of Clearwater Paper (CLW), but is the stock performing well in comparison to the rest of its sector peers? 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.Clearwater Paper is a member of our Basic Materials group, which includes 242 different companies and currently sits at #11 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.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. CLW is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLW's full-year earnings has moved 0.58% 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 CLW has returned about 15.17% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of -41.27% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Clearwater Paper is outperforming its peers so far this year.Looking more specifically, CLW belongs to the Paper and Related Products industry, a group that includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #205 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 42.44% so far this year, so CLW is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track CLW. The stock will be looking 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 Clearwater Paper Corporation (CLW): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.