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Is A. O. Smith (AOS) Stock Outpacing Its Industrial Products Peers 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. Has A.O. Smith (AOS - 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.

A.O. Smith is one of 223 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #4 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. A.O. Smith is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for AOS' full-year earnings has moved 3.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, AOS has returned 14.4% so far this year. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 4.3%. As we can see, A.O. Smith is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is AptarGroup (ATR - Free Report) . The stock has returned 12.4% year-to-date.

In AptarGroup's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, A.O. Smith is a member of the Manufacturing - Electronics industry, which includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #84 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 15.7% so far this year, so AOS is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, AptarGroup falls under the Containers - Paper and Packaging industry. Currently, this industry has 11 stocks and is ranked #108. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -5.1%.

Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track A.O. Smith and AptarGroup. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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