Is AnheuserBusch InBev (BUD) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?
For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BUD) one of those stocks right now? 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.
Anheuser-Busch Inbev is one of 197 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #2 within 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 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. Anheuser-Busch Inbev is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for BUD's full-year earnings has moved 3.4% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the latest available data, BUD has gained about 0.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have lost about 0.3% on average. As we can see, Anheuser-Busch Inbev is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Lamb Weston (LW). The stock has returned 11.8% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Lamb Weston's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 30.6%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Anheuser-Busch Inbev is a member of the Beverages - Alcohol industry, which includes 18 individual companies and currently sits at #20 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 0.3% so far this year, so BUD is performing better in this area.
In contrast, Lamb Weston falls under the Food - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 50 stocks and is ranked #62. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -1.4%.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Lamb Weston as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Lamb Weston (LW) : Free Stock Analysis Report
