Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Ferguson plc (FERG) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Ferguson plc is one of 189 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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 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. Ferguson plc is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FERG's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
According to our latest data, FERG has moved about 29.1% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 6.1%. This means that Ferguson plc 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 Graham (GHM). The stock is up 8.6% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Graham's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 20.3%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Ferguson plc belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, a group that includes 41 individual companies and currently sits at #53 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 7% this year, meaning that FERG is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Graham is also part of the same industry.
Ferguson plc and Graham could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Ferguson plc (FERG): Free Stock Analysis Report Graham Corporation (GHM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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