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Is Murata Manufacturing (MRAAY) Stock Outpacing Its Industrial Products Peers 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. Has Murata Manufacturing Inc. (MRAAY - 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.

Murata Manufacturing Inc. is one of 187 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 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 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. Murata Manufacturing Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MRAAY's full-year earnings has moved 7.8% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, MRAAY has moved about 142.2% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 19.9% on average. This means that Murata Manufacturing Inc. is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

MSC Industrial (MSM - Free Report) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 49.4%.

For MSC Industrial, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Murata Manufacturing Inc. belongs to the Manufacturing - Electronics industry, a group that includes 14 individual stocks and currently sits at #95 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 21.5% this year, meaning that MRAAY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, MSC Industrial belongs to the Industrial Services industry. This 17-stock industry is currently ranked #155. The industry has moved +11.3% year to date.

Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on Murata Manufacturing Inc. and MSC Industrial as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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