For those looking to find strong Basic Materials stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Olympic Steel (ZEUS) 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.Olympic Steel is one of 251 companies in the Basic Materials group. The Basic Materials group currently sits at #7 within 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 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. ZEUS is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ZEUS's full-year earnings has moved 77.97% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.Based on the most recent data, ZEUS has returned 103.23% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Basic Materials group have gained about 9.90% on average. As we can see, Olympic Steel is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.To break things down more, ZEUS belongs to the Steel - Producers industry, a group that includes 24 individual companies and currently sits at #20 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 52.73% so far this year, so ZEUS is performing better in this area.Investors with an interest in Basic Materials stocks should continue to track ZEUS. The stock will be looking to continue its 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 Olympic Steel, Inc. (ZEUS): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.