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Is Astronics (ATRO) Stock Outpacing Its Aerospace Peers This Year?

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The Aerospace group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Astronics Corporation (ATRO - 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 Aerospace peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Astronics Corporation is one of 54 individual stocks in the Aerospace sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #1 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. Astronics Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATRO's full-year earnings has moved 16.3% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, ATRO has moved about 106.6% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Aerospace group have gained about 19.7% on average. This means that Astronics Corporation is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Aerospace stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Bae Systems PLC (BAESY - Free Report) . The stock has returned 75.9% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Bae Systems PLC's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Astronics Corporation belongs to the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, a group that includes 27 individual companies and currently sits at #38 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 21.7% so far this year, meaning that ATRO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Bae Systems PLC is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Aerospace sector may want to keep a close eye on Astronics Corporation and Bae Systems PLC as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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