Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is A. O. Smith (AOS) Stock Outpacing Its Industrial Products Peers This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. A.O. Smith (AOS - 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Industrial Products peers, we might be able to answer that question.

A.O. Smith is one of 218 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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 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. A.O. Smith is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for AOS' full-year earnings has moved 4.3% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, AOS has moved about 12.9% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have lost about 2.8% on average. This means that A.O. Smith is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is MSC Industrial (MSM - Free Report) . The stock has returned 3.4% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, MSC Industrial's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, A.O. Smith belongs to the Manufacturing - Electronics industry, a group that includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #30 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 1.2% so far this year, so AOS is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, MSC Industrial falls under the Industrial Services industry. Currently, this industry has 23 stocks and is ranked #27. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +10.8%.

Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to A.O. Smith and MSC Industrial as they could maintain their solid performance.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


A. O. Smith Corporation (AOS) - free report >>

MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (MSM) - free report >>

Published in