The Aerospace group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is AAR (AIR) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Aerospace peers, we might be able to answer that question.

AAR is one of 51 individual stocks in the Aerospace sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #9 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. AAR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIR's full-year earnings has moved 4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, AIR has moved about 15.1% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Aerospace stocks have gained an average of 6%. As we can see, AAR is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Aerospace stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Redwire Corporation (RDW). The stock is up 29% year-to-date.

In Redwire Corporation's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 137.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, AAR belongs to the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, a group that includes 26 individual stocks and currently sits at #79 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 38.8% so far this year, meaning that AIR is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Redwire Corporation falls under the Aerospace - Defense industry. Currently, this industry has 24 stocks and is ranked #174. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -4.4%.

Going forward, investors interested in Aerospace stocks should continue to pay close attention to AAR and Redwire Corporation as they could maintain their solid performance.

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