Is Caterpillar (CAT) Stock Outpacing Its Industrial Products Peers This Year?
For those looking to find strong Industrial Products stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Caterpillar (CAT) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Caterpillar is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 215 different companies and currently sits at #10 in 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. Caterpillar is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CAT's full-year earnings has moved 11.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, CAT has moved about 5.6% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 0.9% on average. This shows that Caterpillar is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Stanley Black & Decker (SWK). The stock has returned 5% year-to-date.
For Stanley Black & Decker, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 19.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Caterpillar belongs to the Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry, a group that includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #24 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 6.8% so far this year, so CAT is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Stanley Black & Decker belongs to the Manufacturing - Tools & Related Products industry. This 5-stock industry is currently ranked #176. The industry has moved +13.1% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Caterpillar and Stanley Black & Decker as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Stanley Black & Decker, Inc. (SWK) : Free Stock Analysis Report
