The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Ferguson plc (FERG) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Industrial Products peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Ferguson plc is one of 180 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #6 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Ferguson plc is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FERG's full-year earnings has moved 1.9% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that FERG has returned about 15.7% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 12.6% on average. This means that Ferguson plc is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, Flowserve (FLS), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 15%.
Over the past three months, Flowserve's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Ferguson plc belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, a group that includes 43 individual stocks and currently sits at #73 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 10.4% so far this year, so FERG is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Flowserve is also part of the same industry.
Ferguson plc and Flowserve 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 Flowserve Corporation (FLS): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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