Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Is Greif (GEF) Stock Outpacing Its Industrial Products Peers This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Greif (GEF - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Greif is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 229 different companies and currently sits 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. Greif is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GEF's full-year earnings has moved 4.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that GEF has returned about 5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Industrial Products sector has returned an average of -7.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Greif is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

MSC Industrial (MSM - 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 3%.

The consensus estimate for MSC Industrial's current year EPS has increased 3.9% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Greif belongs to the Containers - Paper and Packaging industry, which includes 12 individual stocks and currently sits at #108 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 2.7% so far this year, meaning that GEF is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

MSC Industrial, however, belongs to the Industrial Services industry. Currently, this 24-stock industry is ranked #176. The industry has moved -19.2% so far this year.

Greif and MSC Industrial could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


MSC Industrial Direct Company, Inc. (MSM) - free report >>

Greif, Inc. (GEF) - free report >>

Published in