For those looking to find strong Industrial Products stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. HITACHI CONSTR (HTCMY) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

HITACHI CONSTR is one of 190 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #7 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. HITACHI CONSTR is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HTCMY's full-year earnings has moved 6.7% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, HTCMY has returned 35.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have lost about 7.1% on average. This shows that HITACHI CONSTR is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Keyence Corporation (KYCCF) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 10.6%.

In Keyence Corporation's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, HITACHI CONSTR belongs to the Manufacturing - Construction and Mining industry, which includes 7 individual stocks and currently sits at #19 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 9.9% this year, meaning that HTCMY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Keyence Corporation falls under the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry. Currently, this industry has 38 stocks and is ranked #149. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -6.1%.

HITACHI CONSTR and Keyence Corporation could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

Story Continues

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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