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Has Howmet Aerospace (HWM) Outpaced Other Aerospace Stocks 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. Howmet (HWM - 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.

Howmet is one of 76 individual stocks in the Aerospace sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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 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. Howmet is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HWM's full-year earnings has moved 5.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that HWM has returned about 9.6% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Aerospace group have lost about 9.1% on average. This means that Howmet is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

One other Aerospace stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is RTX (RTX - Free Report) . The stock is up 6.6% year-to-date.

In RTX's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 4.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Howmet belongs to the Aerospace - Defense industry, a group that includes 39 individual stocks and currently sits at #104 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 9.3% so far this year, so HWM is performing better in this area. RTX is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Aerospace stocks should continue to pay close attention to Howmet and RTX as they could maintain their solid performance.

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