Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging A. O. Smith (AOS) This Year?

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Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is A.O. Smith (AOS) one of those stocks right now? 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.

A.O. Smith is one of 217 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #1 within 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. A.O. Smith is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AOS' full-year earnings has moved 4.1% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, AOS has gained about 21.9% so far this year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 0.5%. As we can see, A.O. Smith is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Cintas (CTAS). The stock has returned 1.6% year-to-date.

For Cintas, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, A.O. Smith belongs to the Manufacturing - Electronics industry, a group that includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #53 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 5% so far this year, so AOS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Cintas belongs to the Uniform and Related industry. This 2-stock industry is currently ranked #222. The industry has moved +0.5% year to date.

Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on A.O. Smith and Cintas as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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