For those looking to find strong Aerospace stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Astronics Corporation (ATRO) 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 Aerospace peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Astronics Corporation is one of 67 individual stocks in the Aerospace sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Astronics Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATRO's full-year earnings has moved 3.8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
According to our latest data, ATRO has moved about 46.4% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Aerospace stocks have lost an average of 3%. This shows that Astronics Corporation is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another Aerospace stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Howmet (HWM). The stock has returned 23.5% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Howmet's current year EPS has increased 11.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Astronics Corporation belongs to the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, a group that includes 37 individual companies and currently sits at #95 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 5.9% this year, meaning that ATRO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Howmet belongs to the Aerospace - Defense industry. This 29-stock industry is currently ranked #144. The industry has moved -6.2% year to date.
Astronics Corporation and Howmet could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Aerospace stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Astronics Corporation (ATRO): Free Stock Analysis Report
Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).