Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging Illinois Tool Works (ITW) This Year?

Read MoreHide Full Article

For those looking to find strong Industrial Products stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Illinois Tool Works (ITW - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Illinois Tool Works is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 219 different companies and currently sits at #2 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 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. Illinois Tool Works is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ITW's full-year earnings has moved 3.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, ITW has gained about 8.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 6.9% on average. This means that Illinois Tool Works is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, MRC Global (MRC - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 15.6%.

In MRC Global's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 0.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Illinois Tool Works belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, a group that includes 39 individual companies and currently sits at #74 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 10.6% so far this year, so ITW is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, MRC Global falls under the Steel - Pipe and Tube industry. Currently, this industry has 4 stocks and is ranked #5. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -0.2%.

Illinois Tool Works and MRC Global 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:


Illinois Tool Works Inc. (ITW) - free report >>

MRC Global Inc. (MRC) - free report >>

Published in