The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. 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 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. 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 5.3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, GNRC has gained about 19.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 10.6% on average. This means that Generac Holdings is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is ScanSource (SCSC). The stock is up 22.6% year-to-date.

In ScanSource's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 8.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Generac Holdings belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, which includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #165 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 10.2% this year, meaning that GNRC is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, ScanSource falls under the Industrial Services industry. Currently, this industry has 20 stocks and is ranked #187. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +8.7%.

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

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