The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Graham (GHM) been one of those stocks this year? 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.
Graham is one of 181 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
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. Graham is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GHM's full-year earnings has moved 2.1% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, GHM has gained about 47.8% so far this year. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 12.8%. As we can see, Graham is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, W.W. Grainger (GWW), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 23.7%.
In W.W. Grainger's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 3.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Graham belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, a group that includes 41 individual companies and currently sits at #67 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 3.6% this year, meaning that GHM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
W.W. Grainger, however, belongs to the Industrial Services industry. Currently, this 16-stock industry is ranked #151. The industry has moved +4.4% so far this year.
Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track Graham and W.W. Grainger. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Graham Corporation (GHM): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).