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Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging ABB (ABB) This Year?

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Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is ABB one of those stocks right now? 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.

ABB is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 219 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #1. 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. ABB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABB's full-year earnings has moved 7.3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ABB has returned about 5% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have lost an average of 2.4%. As we can see, ABB is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Illinois Tool Works (ITW - Free Report) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 4.3%.

In Illinois Tool Works' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 4.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, ABB belongs to the Manufacturing - Electronics industry, which includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #84 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 1.2% so far this year, so ABB is performing better in this area.

Illinois Tool Works, however, belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry. Currently, this 39-stock industry is ranked #103. The industry has moved -0.1% so far this year.

ABB and Illinois Tool Works 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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