Is Heico (HEI) Outperforming Other Aerospace Stocks This Year?

For those looking to find strong Aerospace stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Heico Corporation (HEI) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Heico Corporation is a member of our Aerospace group, which includes 58 different companies and currently sits at #3 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Heico Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HEI's full-year earnings has moved 4% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, HEI has moved about 36.6% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Aerospace stocks have gained an average of 23.1%. This means that Heico Corporation is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Aerospace sector, Woodward (WWD), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 51.6%.

For Woodward, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Heico Corporation is a member of the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, which includes 33 individual companies and currently sits at #74 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 25.3% so far this year, so HEI is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Woodward is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Aerospace sector may want to keep a close eye on Heico Corporation and Woodward as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

Zacks Investment Research