The Industrial Products group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Cintas (CTAS) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Cintas 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 gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.

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. Cintas is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CTAS' full-year earnings has moved 1.7% higher within the past quarter. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, CTAS has moved about 42.8% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Industrial Products group have gained about 17.5% on average. This shows that Cintas is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Industrial Products stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Quad/Graphics (QUAD). The stock has returned 30.8% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Quad/Graphics' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Cintas belongs to the Uniform and Related industry, a group that includes 2 individual stocks and currently sits at #77 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 41% this year, meaning that CTAS is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Quad/Graphics falls under the Commercial Printing industry. Currently, this industry has 5 stocks and is ranked #12. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +47.5%.

Investors interested in the Industrial Products sector may want to keep a close eye on Cintas and Quad/Graphics as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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