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 Cintas (CTAS) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Cintas is one of 213 individual stocks in the Industrial Products sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. 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 1.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, CTAS has gained about 36.6% so far this year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 11.5%. As we can see, Cintas is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Industrial Products sector, DXP Enterprises (DXPE), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 45.6%.

Over the past three months, DXP Enterprises' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 12.7%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Cintas belongs to the Uniform and Related industry, which includes 2 individual stocks and currently sits at #99 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 34.6% so far this year, meaning that CTAS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, DXP Enterprises falls under the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry. Currently, this industry has 42 stocks and is ranked #145. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +9.2%.

Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Cintas and DXP Enterprises as they could maintain their solid performance.

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