Investors interested in Aerospace stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Astronics (ATRO Quick QuoteATRO - 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.

Astronics is one of 37 companies in the Aerospace group. The Aerospace group currently sits at #1 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATRO's full-year earnings has moved 14.33% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, ATRO has gained about 29.16% so far this year. At the same time, Aerospace stocks have gained an average of 15.69%. As we can see, Astronics is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Breaking things down more, ATRO is a member of the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, which includes 21 individual companies and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 21.03% so far this year, meaning that ATRO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

ATRO will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Aerospace stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.