Is Barnes Group Stock Outpacing Its Industrial Products Peers This Year?

For those looking to find strong Industrial Products stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Barnes Group B 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? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Industrial Products sector should help us answer this question.

Barnes Group is one of 218 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #6 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 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. Barnes Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for B's full-year earnings has moved 2.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

According to our latest data, B has moved about 33.4% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 8.7%. This means that Barnes Group is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, Kadant KAI, has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 21.1%.

For Kadant, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Barnes Group belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, which includes 44 individual stocks and currently sits at #73 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 9.6% this year, meaning that B is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Kadant is also part of the same industry.

Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track Barnes Group and Kadant. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.