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? 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.
Fastenal is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 187 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 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. Fastenal is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for FAST's full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher within the past quarter. 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 19.4% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 13.7%. This means that Fastenal is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Kubota Corp. (KUBTY) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 34.1%.
The consensus estimate for Kubota Corp.'s current year EPS has increased 56.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Fastenal is a member of the Industrial Services industry, which includes 16 individual companies and currently sits at #185 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 7.4% this year, meaning that FAST is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Kubota Corp. falls under the Manufacturing - Farm Equipment industry. Currently, this industry has 6 stocks and is ranked #219. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +47.7%.
Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track Fastenal and Kubota Corp.. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).