The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Fastenal (FAST) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Fastenal is one of 183 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. Fastenal is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FAST's full-year earnings has moved 0.8% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that FAST has returned about 20.1% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 14.1%. This means that Fastenal is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Gates Industrial (GTES). The stock has returned 14.2% year-to-date.
For Gates Industrial, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Fastenal belongs to the Industrial Services industry, which includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #228 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 3.4% so far this year, meaning that FAST is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Gates Industrial falls under the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry. Currently, this industry has 42 stocks and is ranked #79. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +9.1%.
Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on Fastenal and Gates Industrial as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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Fastenal Company (FAST): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).