Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. MSC Industrial (MSM) 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.
MSC Industrial is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 189 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #2. 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. MSC Industrial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for MSM's full-year earnings has moved 3.7% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, MSM has gained about 17.3% so far this year. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 9.2%. This shows that MSC Industrial is outperforming its peers so far this year.
One other Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Siemens AG (SIEGY). The stock is up 41% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Siemens AG's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 12.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, MSC Industrial belongs to the Industrial Services industry, a group that includes 18 individual companies and currently sits at #28 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 8.1% so far this year, so MSM is performing better in this area. Siemens AG is also part of the same industry.
Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to MSC Industrial and Siemens AG as they could maintain their solid performance.
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MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (MSM): Free Stock Analysis Report Siemens AG (SIEGY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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