Has Belden (BDC) Outpaced Other Industrial Products Stocks This Year?

BDC GPK

Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Belden (BDC - Free Report) 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.

Belden is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 218 different companies and currently sits at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Belden is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BDC's full-year earnings has moved 6% 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 BDC has returned about 11.8% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 1.3%. This means that Belden is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Graphic Packaging (GPK - Free Report) . The stock has returned 12.5% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Graphic Packaging's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Belden is a member of the Wire and Cable Products industry, which includes 3 individual companies and currently sits at #42 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 15.8% so far this year, meaning that BDC is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Graphic Packaging falls under the Containers - Paper and Packaging industry. Currently, this industry has 11 stocks and is ranked #40. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +1.2%.

Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on Belden and Graphic Packaging as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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