Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Generac Holdings (GNRC) 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.

Generac Holdings 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 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. Generac Holdings is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GNRC's full-year earnings has moved 4.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, GNRC has returned 42% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 20.4% on average. As we can see, Generac Holdings is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Kadant (KAI). The stock is up 45.7% year-to-date.

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

To break things down more, Generac Holdings belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, a group that includes 42 individual companies and currently sits at #135 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 18.5% so far this year, so GNRC is performing better in this area. Kadant is also part of the same industry.

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

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