For those looking to find strong Aerospace stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Astronics Corporation (ATRO) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Aerospace sector should help us answer this question.
Astronics Corporation is a member of the Aerospace sector. This group includes 58 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #4. 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. Astronics Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATRO's full-year earnings has moved 6.7% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Our latest available data shows that ATRO has returned about 160.7% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Aerospace companies have returned an average of 29.7%. As we can see, Astronics Corporation is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
One other Aerospace stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Heico Corporation (HEI). The stock is up 34.1% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Heico Corporation's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Astronics Corporation is a member of the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, which includes 33 individual companies and currently sits at #73 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 28.1% so far this year, meaning that ATRO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Heico Corporation is also part of the same industry.
Astronics Corporation and Heico Corporation could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Aerospace stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Astronics Corporation (ATRO): Free Stock Analysis Report Heico Corporation (HEI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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