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Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging MSC (MSM) 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 MSC Industrial (MSM - 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.

MSC Industrial is one of 188 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #9 within 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. MSC Industrial is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MSM's full-year earnings has moved 7.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that MSM has returned about 31.9% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 4.6%. This shows that MSC Industrial is outperforming its peers so far this year.

NN Inc. (NNBR - 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 108.6%.

The consensus estimate for NN Inc.'s current year EPS has increased 25% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, MSC Industrial belongs to the Industrial Services industry, which includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #218 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 15.2% so far this year, so MSM is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, NN Inc. belongs to the Metal Products - Procurement and Fabrication industry. This 6-stock industry is currently ranked #82. The industry has moved -20.6% year to date.

MSC Industrial and NN Inc. 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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