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Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging Century Aluminum (CENX) 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 Century Aluminum (CENX - 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.

Century Aluminum is one of 181 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Century Aluminum is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CENX's full-year earnings has moved 53.3% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, CENX has returned 50% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 11.9% on average. This means that Century Aluminum is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, Fanuc Corp. (FANUY - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 22.2%.

In Fanuc Corp.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 4.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Century Aluminum is a member of the Metal Products - Procurement and Fabrication industry, which includes 6 individual companies and currently sits at #23 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 13% so far this year, so CENX is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Fanuc Corp. belongs to the Industrial Automation and Robotics industry. This 1-stock industry is currently ranked #11.

Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track Century Aluminum and Fanuc Corp.. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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