The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Atlas Copco AB (ATLKY) 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.

Atlas Copco AB is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 221 different companies and currently sits at #4 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 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. Atlas Copco AB is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ATLKY's full-year earnings has moved 3.6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Our latest available data shows that ATLKY has returned about 10.7% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 8.1% on average. As we can see, Atlas Copco AB is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Brady (BRC) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 16.2%.

For Brady, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Atlas Copco AB is a member of the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, which includes 44 individual companies and currently sits at #79 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 6.2% so far this year, meaning that ATLKY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Brady belongs to the Security and Safety Services industry. This 20-stock industry is currently ranked #27. The industry has moved +13.7% year to date.

Atlas Copco AB and Brady 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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