The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Research Solutions Inc. (RSSS) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Industrial Products peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Research Solutions Inc. is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 213 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #15. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Research Solutions Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for RSSS' full-year earnings has moved 500% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that RSSS has returned about 38.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Industrial Products sector has returned an average of 22.7% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Research Solutions Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is ScanSource (SCSC). The stock has returned 33.2% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for ScanSource's current year EPS has increased 8.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Research Solutions Inc. belongs to the Commercial Printing industry, a group that includes 4 individual companies and currently sits at #2 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 59.4% so far this year, meaning that RSSS is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, ScanSource falls under the Industrial Services industry. Currently, this industry has 20 stocks and is ranked #202. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +18.1%.

Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on Research Solutions Inc. and ScanSource as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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