The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Comstock Resources (CRK) 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.

Comstock Resources is a member of the Oils-Energy sector. This group includes 247 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #14. 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. Comstock Resources is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRK's full-year earnings has moved 72.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, CRK has moved about 6.3% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of -10.1% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Comstock Resources is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Ecopetrol (EC). The stock is up 11.1% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Ecopetrol's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Comstock Resources belongs to the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry, a group that includes 36 individual companies and currently sits at #190 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 30.6% so far this year, so CRK is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Ecopetrol, however, belongs to the Oil and Gas - Integrated - International industry. Currently, this 17-stock industry is ranked #148. The industry has moved -7.6% so far this year.

Comstock Resources and Ecopetrol could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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

Comstock Resources, Inc. (CRK) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Ecopetrol S.A. (EC) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research