Investors interested in Aerospace stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Bae Systems PLC (BAESY) been one of those stocks this year? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Aerospace sector should help us answer this question.

Bae Systems PLC is a member of the Aerospace sector. This group includes 46 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #5. 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Bae Systems PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BAESY's full-year earnings has moved 0.1% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

According to our latest data, BAESY has moved about 12.8% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Aerospace stocks have gained an average of 2.8%. As we can see, Bae Systems PLC is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

Another stock in the Aerospace sector, Curtiss-Wright (CW), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 66.7%.

For Curtiss-Wright, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Bae Systems PLC belongs to the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, which includes 23 individual stocks and currently sits at #50 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 32.3% so far this year, meaning that BAESY is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns. Curtiss-Wright is also part of the same industry.

Bae Systems PLC and Curtiss-Wright could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Aerospace stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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