Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Mueller Water Products (MWA) 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.

Mueller Water Products is one of 200 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #12 within 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 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. Mueller Water Products is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MWA's full-year earnings has moved 5.4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, MWA has returned 10.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Industrial Products sector has returned an average of -5.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Mueller Water Products 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 Sandvik AB (SDVKY). The stock is up 19.4% year-to-date.

In Sandvik AB's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 69.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Mueller Water Products belongs to the Steel - Pipe and Tube industry, a group that includes 4 individual companies and currently sits at #4 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 1.1% so far this year, so MWA is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Sandvik AB falls under the Manufacturing - Tools & Related Products industry. Currently, this industry has 7 stocks and is ranked #88. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -0.7%.

Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Mueller Water Products and Sandvik AB as they could maintain their solid performance.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS (MWA) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Sandvik AB (SDVKY) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research