Investors interested in Aerospace stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Howmet (HWM) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Howmet is a member of the Aerospace sector. This group includes 82 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #4. 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. Howmet is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWM's full-year earnings has moved 4.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that HWM has returned about 4.2% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Aerospace companies have returned an average of -11.2%. This shows that Howmet is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Woodward (WWD) is another Aerospace stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 8%.
For Woodward, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Howmet belongs to the Aerospace - Defense industry, a group that includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #151 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 11.7% this year, meaning that HWM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Woodward belongs to the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry. This 39-stock industry is currently ranked #82. The industry has moved -10% year to date.
Howmet and Woodward could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Aerospace stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
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Howmet Aerospace Inc. (HWM): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).