For those looking to find strong Aerospace stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC (RYCEY) 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? 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.

Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC is one of 51 individual stocks in the Aerospace sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 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 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. Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RYCEY's full-year earnings has moved 1.2% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, RYCEY has returned 28.9% so far this year. In comparison, Aerospace companies have returned an average of 1.1%. This means that Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Aerospace stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is TransDigm Group (TDG). The stock has returned 6.5% year-to-date.

For TransDigm Group, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC is a member of the Aerospace - Defense Equipment industry, which includes 26 individual companies and currently sits at #79 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 1.6% so far this year, so RYCEY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. TransDigm Group is also part of the same industry.

Investors with an interest in Aerospace stocks should continue to track Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC and TransDigm Group. 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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