Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Ingredion (INGR) This Year?
The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Ingredion (INGR) 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.
Ingredion is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 197 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #4. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.
The Zacks Rank is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Ingredion is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for INGR's full-year earnings has moved 12.4% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the latest available data, INGR has gained about 4.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of -1.1% on a year-to-date basis. As we can see, Ingredion is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Philip Morris (PM). The stock has returned 1.4% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, Philip Morris' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 6.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
Breaking things down more, Ingredion is a member of the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 50 individual companies and currently sits at #63 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has lost an average of 2.5% so far this year, meaning that INGR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Philip Morris falls under the Tobacco industry. Currently, this industry has 7 stocks and is ranked #74. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -0.1%.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Ingredion and Philip Morris as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Ingredion Incorporated (INGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) : Free Stock Analysis Report
