The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is AZZ (AZZ) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
AZZ is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 200 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. 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 model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. AZZ is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AZZ's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the most recent data, AZZ has returned 2.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Industrial Products sector has returned an average of -3.6% on a year-to-date basis. This means that AZZ is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Energy Recovery (ERII). The stock has returned 13.3% year-to-date.
For Energy Recovery, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, AZZ belongs to the Manufacturing - Electronics industry, which includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #35 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 9.3% so far this year, so AZZ is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Energy Recovery, however, belongs to the Pollution Control industry. Currently, this 8-stock industry is ranked #182. The industry has moved -10.6% so far this year.
Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track AZZ and Energy Recovery. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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