Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Associated British Foods (ASBFY) This Year?
Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Associated British Foods PLC (ASBFY) 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.
Associated British Foods PLC is one of 194 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 in 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 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. Associated British Foods PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASBFY's full-year earnings has moved 4.9% 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, ASBFY has returned 22.3% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of -1.1%. This means that Associated British Foods PLC is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Britvic PLC Sponsored ADR (BTVCY). The stock is up 13.6% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Britvic PLC Sponsored ADR's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
To break things down more, Associated British Foods PLC belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 49 individual companies and currently sits at #48 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 1.2% so far this year, so ASBFY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Britvic PLC Sponsored ADR, however, belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry. Currently, this 16-stock industry is ranked #23. The industry has moved +6.1% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Associated British Foods PLC and Britvic PLC Sponsored ADR as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Associated British Foods PLC (ASBFY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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