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 Greif (GEF Quick QuoteGEF - 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.

Greif is one of 221 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #5 within 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. GEF is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for GEF's full-year earnings has moved 11.30% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, GEF has returned 33.77% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 10.37% on average. This means that Greif is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Looking more specifically, GEF belongs to the Containers - Paper and Packaging industry, a group that includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #128 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 7.02% so far this year, so GEF is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track GEF. The stock will be looking to continue its solid performance.