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Are Industrial Products Stocks Lagging Cintas (CTAS) This Year?

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The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Cintas (CTAS - Free Report) 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.

Cintas is one of 221 companies in the Industrial Products group. The Industrial Products group currently sits at #4 within 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. Cintas is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CTAS' full-year earnings has moved 2.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, CTAS has returned 11.2% so far this year. In comparison, Industrial Products companies have returned an average of 6.7%. This shows that Cintas is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Eaton (ETN - 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 40.1%.

Over the past three months, Eaton's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Cintas belongs to the Uniform and Related industry, which includes 2 individual stocks and currently sits at #18 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 10% so far this year, so CTAS is performing better in this area.

On the other hand, Eaton belongs to the Manufacturing - Electronics industry. This 16-stock industry is currently ranked #33. The industry has moved +21.1% year to date.

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


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