The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Mueller Water Products (MWA) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Mueller Water Products is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 213 different companies and currently sits at #12 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MWA's full-year earnings has moved 2.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Our latest available data shows that MWA has returned about 69.6% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 18.1%. This means that Mueller Water Products is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Packaging Corp. (PKG) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 44.6%.
For Packaging Corp. the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Mueller Water Products belongs to the Steel - Pipe and Tube industry, which includes 4 individual stocks and currently sits at #178 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 16.8% this year, meaning that MWA is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Packaging Corp. however, belongs to the Containers - Paper and Packaging industry. Currently, this 11-stock industry is ranked #139. The industry has moved +16.9% so far this year.
Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track Mueller Water Products and Packaging Corp. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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