For those looking to find strong Oils-Energy stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is China Coal Energy Co. (CCOZY) one of those stocks right now? 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.

China Coal Energy Co. is a member of our Oils-Energy group, which includes 243 different companies and currently sits at #16 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. China Coal Energy Co. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CCOZY's full-year earnings has moved 3.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, CCOZY has returned 58.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of 9.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that China Coal Energy Co. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Oils-Energy sector, Core Laboratories (CLB), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 13.8%.

In Core Laboratories' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 8.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, China Coal Energy Co. belongs to the Coal industry, a group that includes 9 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 1.4% this year, meaning that CCOZY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Core Laboratories falls under the Oil and Gas - Field Services industry. Currently, this industry has 23 stocks and is ranked #150. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -1.8%.

Going forward, investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to China Coal Energy Co. and Core Laboratories as they could maintain their solid performance.

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