Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) This Year?
The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Applied Industrial Technologies is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 219 different companies and currently sits at #8 in 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 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. 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 3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, AIT has returned 28% so far this year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have lost an average of 8.3%. This shows that Applied Industrial Technologies is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Fuel Tech, Inc. (FTEK) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 2.9%.
Over the past three months, Fuel Tech, Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 40%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Looking more specifically, Applied Industrial Technologies belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, which includes 38 individual stocks and currently sits at #142 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 11.8% so far this year, meaning that AIT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Fuel Tech, Inc. falls under the Pollution Control industry. Currently, this industry has 8 stocks and is ranked #34. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -6.1%.
Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on Applied Industrial Technologies and Fuel Tech, Inc. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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