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 AZZ (AZZ) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

AZZ is one of 200 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #11 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. AZZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AZZ's full-year earnings has moved 0.2% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, AZZ has moved about 11.7% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have lost an average of 3.7%. This means that AZZ is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, Energy Recovery (ERII), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 2.9%.

The consensus estimate for Energy Recovery's current year EPS has increased 8.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, AZZ belongs to the Manufacturing - Electronics industry, a group that includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #75 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 10.9% so far this year, meaning that AZZ is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Energy Recovery belongs to the Pollution Control industry. This 8-stock industry is currently ranked #89. The industry has moved -13.6% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to AZZ and Energy Recovery as they could maintain their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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