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 Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHVYF) 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.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is a member of our Industrial Products group, which includes 213 different companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MHVYF's full-year earnings has moved 1.7% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that MHVYF has returned about 157% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Industrial Products stocks have gained an average of 17.7%. As we can see, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Northwest Pipe Co. (NWPX) is another Industrial Products stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 77%.

The consensus estimate for Northwest Pipe Co.'s current year EPS has increased 12.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. belongs to the Manufacturing - General Industrial industry, a group that includes 42 individual stocks and currently sits at #143 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 19.9% so far this year, so MHVYF is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Northwest Pipe Co. belongs to the Metal Products - Procurement and Fabrication industry. This 11-stock industry is currently ranked #151. The industry has moved +54.7% year to date.

Going forward, investors interested in Industrial Products stocks should continue to pay close attention to Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Northwest Pipe Co. as they could maintain their solid performance.