The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. AptarGroup (ATR) 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.

AptarGroup is one of 213 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #12 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. AptarGroup is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATR's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that ATR has returned about 27.9% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 9.6% on average. This means that AptarGroup is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Kadant (KAI). The stock is up 25.2% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Kadant's current year EPS has increased 1.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, AptarGroup belongs to the Containers - Paper and Packaging industry, a group that includes 11 individual stocks and currently sits at #189 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 11.9% so far this year, meaning that ATR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Kadant falls under the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry. Currently, this industry has 42 stocks and is ranked #171. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +9.2%.

Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track AptarGroup and Kadant. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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