Barnes Group Inc. B delivered impressive results for the first quarter of 2021. Its earnings surpassed estimates by 22.58%, whereas sales exceeded the same by 11.18%. Notably, the company’s shares gained 3.27% yesterday, ending the trading session at $51.55.Its adjusted earnings in the reported quarter were 38 cents per share. It surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 31 cents. However, the bottom line decreased 46.5% from the year-ago quarter figure of 71 cents due to lower sales generation and weakness in margins.Top-Line ResultsIn the reported quarter, Barnes’ net sales decreased 8.8% year over year to $301.6 million. Organic sales in the first quarter declined 10% year over year due to the adverse impacts of the pandemic on aerospace end markets. Divestitures too lowered sales by 2%, while movements in foreign currencies had a positive impact of 3%.It is worth noting here that first-quarter sales rose 4% from fourth-quarter 2020.The company’s revenues surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $271 million.Barnes reports revenues under two heads — Industrial and Aerospace. A brief snapshot of the segmental sales is provided below:Revenues generated from Industrial amounted to $220 million, increasing 10.5% year over year. The segment gained from strengthening end-market businesses. Organic sales were up 8% year over year and movements in foreign currencies had a positive impact of 5%, partially offset by an adverse divestiture impact of 3%.Aerospace’s sales were $81.6 million in the first quarter, down 37.9% from the year-ago quarter. The reported quarter’s performance was adversely impacted by weakness in aerospace end markets due to the pandemic. Aftermarket sales were down 48%, while that of original equipment manufacturing declined 32%.Margin ProfileIn the reported quarter, Barnes’ cost of sales decreased 6.5% year over year to $194.7 million. Notably, cost of sales represented 64.6% of net sales versus 63% in the year-ago quarter. Selling and administrative expenses increased 2% year over year to $74.6 million, and represented 24.7% of net sales.Adjusted operating income in the reported quarter decreased 37.5% year over year to $32.4 million, whereas margin fell 490 basis points to 10.7%. Interest expenses totaled $3.9 million in the reported quarter, down 8.8% year over year.Balance Sheet & Cash FlowExiting the first quarter, Barnes’ cash and cash equivalents were $84.9 million, up 7.3% from $79.2 million recorded in the last reported quarter. Long-term debt was $664 million, reflecting a 5.1% decline from $699.9 million in the last reported quarter.In the reported quarter, the company repaid long-term debt of $30.9 million. Also, it received $15 million as proceeds from the issuance of long-term debts. Liquidity available in the quarter included cash of $85 million and credit under revolving facilities of $441 million.In the quarter under review, the company generated net cash of $35.6 million from operating activities, down 24.5% from the year-ago quarter. Capital expenditure totaled $7.9 million, decreasing 34.1% year over year. Free cash flow was $27.8 million versus $35.3 million in the year-ago quarter.In the first quarter, Barnes paid out dividends amounting to $8.1 million, representing a 0.4% decrease from the prior-year quarter’s disbursement. No shares were repurchased in the quarter.OutlookFor 2021, Barnes anticipates earnings of $1.78-$1.98 per share, above the previously stated $1.65-$1.90. The revised projection suggests year-over-year growth of 9-21%. Movements in foreign currencies are expected to boost sales by 2%. Divestiture impact is expected to be adverse 1%.Organic sales for the year are expected to rise 10-12% (on a year-over-year basis) versus 6-8% mentioned earlier. Operating margin is predicted to be 13% versus the previously stated 12-14%.The company anticipates capital expenditure of $50 million, down from the previously mentioned $55 million. Cash conversion is expected to exceed 100% of net income. Effective tax rate for 2021 is expected to be 30%.Barnes Group, Inc. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Barnes Group, Inc. price-consensus-eps-surprise-chart | Barnes Group, Inc. QuoteZacks Rank & Stocks to ConsiderWith a market capitalization of $2.6 billion, Barnes currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).Some better-ranked stocks in the industry are Applied Industrial Technologies, Inc. AIT, Dover Corporation DOV and Graco Inc. GGG. All the companies presently carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.In the past 60 days, earnings estimates for these companies improved for the current year. Further, earnings surprise for the last reported quarter was 35.64% for Applied Industrial, 23.13% for Dover and 16.00% for Graco.More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone!It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 77 billion devices by 2025, creating a $1.3 trillion market.Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 4 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2022. Click here for the 4 trades >>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 Graco Inc. (GGG): Free Stock Analysis Report Dover Corporation (DOV): Free Stock Analysis Report Barnes Group, Inc. (B): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research