Will Heico (HEI) stock outperform its aerospace peers this year?

Aerospace Group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always look for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Heico Corporation (HEI) among these companies this year? By taking a look at the company’s stock’s year-to-date performance compared to its aerospace peers, we may be able to answer this question.

Heico Corporation is a member of the Aerospace sector. This group includes 45 individual stocks and currently sits at #2 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 companies with better earnings prospects. This system has a long history of success and these stocks are on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Heico Corporation is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for college full-year earnings has increased 2.4% over the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is better and the company’s earnings prospects are improving.

The latest data shows that universities have already returned 20.7% this year. Meanwhile, the aerospace sector returned an average of -3.1% year-over-year. This shows that Heico Corporation has outperformed its competitors this year.

Another aerospace stock that has outperformed the sector this year is Leidos (LDOS). Since the beginning of the year, the company’s shares have returned 38.4%.

The consensus estimate for Leidos’ current-year EPS has increased 10.8% over the past three months. The stock is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

More specifically, Heico Corporation belongs to the Aerospace – Defense Equipment industry, a group that consists of 21 individual companies and currently sits at #71 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group’s shares have gained 14.3% this year, meaning universities are outperforming year-to-date profitability.

Leidos, on the other hand, belongs to the aerospace and defense industry. Currently, this industry has 23 stocks and is ranked 78th. The industry has moved -8.3% since the beginning of the year.

Going forward, investors interested in aerospace stocks should continue to pay close attention to Heico Corporation and Leidos as they are poised to maintain solid performance.

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today you can download the top 7 stocks for the next 30 days. Click to get this free report

Heico Corporation (HEI): Free Stock Analysis Report

Leidos Holdings, Inc. (LDOS): Free Stock Analysis Report

To read this article on Zacks.com click here.

Zacks Investment Research