Is Eaton (ETN) Stock Outpacing Its Industrial Products Peers This Year?

ETN FERG

For those looking to find strong Industrial Products stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Eaton (ETN - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Eaton is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 216 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Eaton is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ETN's full-year earnings has moved 2.5% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, ETN has gained about 45.4% so far this year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 8.1%. This means that Eaton is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, Ferguson plc (FERG - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 32.5%.

The consensus estimate for Ferguson plc's current year EPS has increased 3.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Eaton is a member of the Manufacturing - Electronics industry, which includes 16 individual companies and currently sits at #84 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 17.7% so far this year, so ETN is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Ferguson plc falls under the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry. Currently, this industry has 41 stocks and is ranked #143. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +15.2%.

Eaton and Ferguson plc could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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