The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Esab (ESAB) 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Industrial Products sector should help us answer this question.
Esab is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 189 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Esab is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ESAB's full-year earnings has moved 0.4% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that ESAB has returned about 8.7% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 6% on average. This means that Esab is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Fastenal (FAST). The stock is up 26.4% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Fastenal's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.3%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Esab belongs to the Metal Products - Procurement and Fabrication industry, which includes 8 individual stocks and currently sits at #17 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 8.6% so far this year, so ESAB is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Fastenal, however, belongs to the Industrial Services industry. Currently, this 18-stock industry is ranked #12. The industry has moved +1.3% so far this year.
Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on Esab and Fastenal as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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ESAB Corporation (ESAB): Free Stock Analysis Report Fastenal Company (FAST): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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