The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) one of those stocks right now? 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.
Applied Industrial Technologies is one of 187 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #4 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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. Applied Industrial Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIT's full-year earnings has moved 1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, AIT has returned 10% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 6.8% on average. This means that Applied Industrial Technologies is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Helios Technologies (HLIO). The stock is up 22.1% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Helios Technologies' current year EPS has increased 2.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Applied Industrial Technologies is a member of the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, which includes 41 individual companies and currently sits at #95 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 9.6% so far this year, so AIT is performing better in this area. Helios Technologies is also part of the same industry.
Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Applied Industrial Technologies and Helios Technologies as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT): Free Stock Analysis Report Helios Technologies, Inc (HLIO): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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