For those looking to find strong Aerospace stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Leonardo DRS, Inc. (DRS) 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.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. is one of 51 individual stocks in the Aerospace sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in 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. Leonardo DRS, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DRS' full-year earnings has moved 5.9% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, DRS has gained about 2.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Aerospace group have gained about 0% on average. As we can see, Leonardo DRS, Inc. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Kratos (KTOS) is another Aerospace stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 11.9%.

The consensus estimate for Kratos' current year EPS has increased 1.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Leonardo DRS, Inc. belongs to the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, a group that includes 26 individual stocks and currently sits at #72 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 33.1% so far this year, meaning that DRS is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Kratos is also part of the same industry.

Leonardo DRS, Inc. and Kratos could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Aerospace stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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