Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) 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 Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) one of those stocks right now? 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.
Applied Industrial Technologies is one of 217 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #7 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.
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 #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIT's full-year earnings has moved 2.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, AIT has gained about 28.3% so far this year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 5.3%. This means that Applied Industrial Technologies is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
AptarGroup (ATR) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 14%.
For AptarGroup, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (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 #42 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 9.9% so far this year, so AIT is performing better in this area.
On the other hand, AptarGroup belongs to the Containers - Paper and Packaging industry. This 10-stock industry is currently ranked #208. The industry has moved -7.2% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Applied Industrial Technologies and AptarGroup as they could maintain 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
Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT) : Free Stock Analysis Report
AptarGroup, Inc. (ATR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
