On Mar 09, we issued an updated research report on IDEX Corporation IEX.In the past three months, this Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock has returned 2.5% compared with the industry’s growth of 5.9%.Present ScenarioIDEX is poised to benefit from a diversified business structure, solid product portfolio, execution abilities and growth investments. For 2021, the company expects end-markets conditions to improve. It anticipates organic revenues to rise 6-8% on a year-over-year basis, with 2-4% growth expected for the first quarter of 2021. Revenues for the year are expected to be $2,550-$2,597 million, suggesting a year-over-year increase of 8-10%.Also, the company intends to solidify its product portfolio and leverage business opportunities through the addition of assets. For instance, its acquisition of Flow Management Devices (February 2020) strengthened its product offerings to chemical manufacturers, refineries and pipeline operators. Further, IDEX’s decision to acquire Abel Pumps is predicted to boost its pump platform within the Fluid & Metering Technologies segment. Notably, acquired assets boosted the company’s sales by 1% in the fourth quarter of 2020.Moreover, IDEX’s policy of rewarding shareholders handsomely through dividend payments and share buybacks will work in its favor. In 2020, it paid out dividends worth $151.8 million and repurchased shares worth $110.3 million, reflecting a year-over-year increase of 3.1% and 101.8%, respectively.However, weakness in the energy end market is likely to adversely impact the performance of the company’s Fluid & Metering Technology segment in 2021. In addition, IDEX faces headwinds from unfavorable movements in foreign currencies, variable compensation and higher taxes in 2021.Key PicksSome better-ranked stocks from the same space are EnPro Industries, Inc. NPO, Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT and Dover Corporation DOV. While EnPro currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Applied Industrial and Dover carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), presently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.EnPro delivered a positive earnings surprise of 310.81%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.Applied Industrial delivered a positive earnings surprise of 21.92%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.Dover delivered a positive earnings surprise of 20.01%, on average, in the trailing four quarters.5 Stocks Set to DoubleEach was hand-picked by a Zacks expert as the #1 favorite stock to gain +100% or more in 2020. Each comes from a different sector and has unique qualities and catalysts that could fuel exceptional growth.Most of the stocks in this report are flying under Wall Street radar, which provides a great opportunity to get in on the ground floor.Today, See These 5 Potential Home Runs >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. (AIT): Free Stock Analysis Report Dover Corporation (DOV): Free Stock Analysis Report EnPro Industries (NPO): Free Stock Analysis Report IDEX Corporation (IEX): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research