Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Idex (IEX) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Idex is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 181 different companies and currently sits at #5 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 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. Idex is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IEX's full-year earnings has moved 3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Our latest available data shows that IEX has returned about 18.7% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 15%. This means that Idex is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, Nordson (NDSN), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 19.7%.
In Nordson's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Idex belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, which includes 41 individual stocks and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 4.9% so far this year, meaning that IEX is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Nordson is also part of the same industry.
Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on Idex and Nordson as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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IDEX Corporation (IEX): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).