For those looking to find strong Industrial Products stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Mueller Water Products (MWA) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Industrial Products sector should help us answer this question.

Mueller Water Products is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 201 different companies and currently sits at #10 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 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. Mueller Water Products is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MWA's full-year earnings has moved 2.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, MWA has returned 16.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 0.9% on average. This shows that Mueller Water Products is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Proto Labs (PRLB) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 11.9%.

Over the past three months, Proto Labs' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 22.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Mueller Water Products is a member of the Steel - Pipe and Tube industry, which includes 4 individual companies and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 4.4% so far this year, so MWA is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Proto Labs falls under the Rubber - Plastics industry. Currently, this industry has 4 stocks and is ranked #21. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +9%.

Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track Mueller Water Products and Proto Labs. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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