Is Atlas Copco (ATLKY) 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. Atlas Copco AB (ATLKY) 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? 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.

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Atlas Copco AB is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 190 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #9. 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Atlas Copco AB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATLKY's full-year earnings has moved 1.8% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, ATLKY has returned 8.7% so far this year. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 6.7%. As we can see, Atlas Copco AB is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Halma (HLMAF). The stock has returned 25.1% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Halma's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 8.2%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Atlas Copco AB belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, which includes 41 individual stocks and currently sits at #59 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 6.8% so far this year, so ATLKY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Halma, however, belongs to the Security and Safety Services industry. Currently, this 16-stock industry is ranked #27. The industry has moved +9.5% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Atlas Copco AB and Halma as they could maintain their solid performance.

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

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