The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Consol Energy (CEIX) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Oils-Energy peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Consol Energy is a member of our Oils-Energy group, which includes 239 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 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. Consol Energy is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CEIX's full-year earnings has moved 0.3% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that CEIX has returned about 2.3% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of 0.7% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Consol Energy is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Oils-Energy sector, CNX Resources Corporation. (CNX), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 83.1%.

Over the past three months, CNX Resources Corporation.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Consol Energy is a member of the Coal industry, which includes 9 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 7.1% so far this year, so CEIX is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, CNX Resources Corporation. falls under the Oil and Gas - Exploration and Production - United States industry. Currently, this industry has 34 stocks and is ranked #130. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +2.8%.

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

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