Yahoo Finance Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging PepsiCo (PEP) This Year?
The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. PepsiCo (PEP) 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 Consumer Staples sector should help us answer this question.
PepsiCo is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 191 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. 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 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. PepsiCo is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PEP's full-year earnings has moved 0.7% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the most recent data, PEP has returned 3.4% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 1.7%. This shows that PepsiCo is outperforming its peers so far this year.
Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Pilgrim's Pride (PPC), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 29.3%.
In Pilgrim's Pride's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 21.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, PepsiCo belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry, which includes 15 individual stocks and currently sits at #81 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 2.6% this year, meaning that PEP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
Pilgrim's Pride, however, belongs to the Food - Meat Products industry. Currently, this 5-stock industry is ranked #21. The industry has moved +13.6% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to PepsiCo and Pilgrim's Pride as they could maintain their solid performance.
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