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Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT) This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Industrial Products stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT - Free Report) 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.

Applied Industrial Technologies is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 223 different companies and currently sits at #6 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Applied Industrial Technologies is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AIT's full-year earnings has moved 2.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, AIT has gained about 26.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Industrial Products sector has returned an average of 9.5% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Applied Industrial Technologies is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Esab (ESAB - Free Report) . The stock has returned 47.9% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Esab's current year EPS has increased 5.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Applied Industrial Technologies belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, a group that includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #60 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 11.4% this year, meaning that AIT is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Esab belongs to the Metal Products - Procurement and Fabrication industry. This 13-stock industry is currently ranked #88. The industry has moved +18.6% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track Applied Industrial Technologies and Esab. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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