The Basic Materials group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has AngloGold Ashanti (AU) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Basic Materials sector should help us answer this question.AngloGold Ashanti is one of 248 individual stocks in the Basic Materials sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.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. AU is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AU's full-year earnings has moved 26.70% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.Our latest available data shows that AU has returned about 45.82% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Basic Materials sector has returned an average of 12.79% on a year-to-date basis. This means that AngloGold Ashanti is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.Looking more specifically, AU belongs to the Mining - Gold industry, a group that includes 32 individual stocks and currently sits at #50 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 29.65% this year, meaning that AU 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 AU 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 AngloGold Ashanti Limited (AU): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here.