Is Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) Stock Outpacing Its Industrial Products Peers This Year?
Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 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 Industrial Products sector should help us answer this question.
Applied Industrial Technologies is one of 223 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #4 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 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. 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 1.8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, AIT has moved about 23.5% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 6%. This shows that Applied Industrial Technologies is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Alamo Group (ALG). The stock has returned 22.6% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Alamo Group's current year EPS has increased 0.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Applied Industrial Technologies belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, a group that includes 42 individual companies and currently sits at #71 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 9.4% so far this year, so AIT is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Alamo Group falls under the Manufacturing - Farm Equipment industry. Currently, this industry has 8 stocks and is ranked #106. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -11%.
Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Applied Industrial Technologies and Alamo Group as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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