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Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging ABB (ABBNY) This Year?

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The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is ABB (ABBNY - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Industrial Products peers, we might be able to answer that question.

ABB is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 188 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. 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 proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. ABB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABBNY's full-year earnings has moved 1.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, ABBNY has gained about 19% so far this year. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 10.2%. This means that ABB is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 18.8%.

For Applied Industrial Technologies, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, ABB is a member of the Manufacturing - Electronics industry, which includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #113 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 22% this year, meaning that ABBNY is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

Applied Industrial Technologies, however, belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry. Currently, this 43-stock industry is ranked #166. The industry has moved +5.6% so far this year.

ABB and Applied Industrial Technologies could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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