For those looking to find strong Industrial Products stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Apogee Enterprises (APOG) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? 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.
Apogee Enterprises is one of 189 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #9 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. Apogee Enterprises is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for APOG's full-year earnings has moved 7.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, APOG has gained about 11.7% so far this year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 11.2%. This means that Apogee Enterprises is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Ball (BALL). The stock has returned 14.1% year-to-date.
In Ball's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 0.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Apogee Enterprises belongs to the Glass Products industry, a group that includes 2 individual companies and currently sits at #27 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 43.1% so far this year, so APOG is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Ball belongs to the Containers - Metal and Glass industry. This 4-stock industry is currently ranked #18. The industry has moved +6% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Apogee Enterprises and Ball as they could maintain their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).