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Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging W.W. Grainger (GWW) This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Industrial Products stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has W.W. Grainger (GWW - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

W.W. Grainger is a member of the Industrial Products sector. This group includes 219 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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. W.W. Grainger is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GWW's full-year earnings has moved 5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, GWW has returned 14.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Industrial Products sector has returned an average of -15.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that W.W. Grainger is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Hubbell (HUBB - Free Report) . The stock has returned 14.9% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Hubbell's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, W.W. Grainger belongs to the Industrial Services industry, a group that includes 23 individual stocks and currently sits at #94 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 21.9% so far this year, so GWW is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Hubbell, however, belongs to the Manufacturing - Electrical Utilities industry. Currently, this 1-stock industry is ranked #1. The industry has moved +16.4% so far this year.

Investors with an interest in Industrial Products stocks should continue to track W.W. Grainger and Hubbell. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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