The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Insteel Industries (IIIN) 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.
Insteel Industries is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 189 different companies and currently sits at #3 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Insteel Industries is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IIIN's full-year earnings has moved 18.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, IIIN has returned 40.9% so far this year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 5.5%. This means that Insteel Industries is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
AZZ (AZZ) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 37.2%.
In AZZ's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 4.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Insteel Industries belongs to the Wire and Cable Products industry, which includes 3 individual stocks and currently sits at #99 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 1.8% so far this year, meaning that IIIN is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, AZZ belongs to the Manufacturing - Electronics industry. This 15-stock industry is currently ranked #89. The industry has moved +4.7% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Insteel Industries and AZZ as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Insteel Industries, Inc. (IIIN): Free Stock Analysis Report AZZ Inc. (AZZ): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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