For those looking to find strong Aerospace stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Airbus Group (EADSY) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Aerospace peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Airbus Group is one of 53 individual stocks in the Aerospace sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 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 is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Airbus Group is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for EADSY's full-year earnings has moved 4.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that EADSY has returned about 10.3% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Aerospace sector has returned an average of 8.2% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Airbus Group is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Aerospace stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Heico Corporation (HEI). The stock has returned 10.4% year-to-date.

In Heico Corporation's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 5.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Airbus Group is a member of the Aerospace - Defense industry, which includes 25 individual companies and currently sits at #147 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 9.4% this year, meaning that EADSY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Heico Corporation falls under the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry. Currently, this industry has 27 stocks and is ranked #26. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +4.6%.

Investors with an interest in Aerospace stocks should continue to track Airbus Group and Heico Corporation. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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