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 Ingredion (INGR) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Ingredion is one of 184 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #10 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. Ingredion is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for INGR's full-year earnings has moved 2% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, INGR has moved about 22.3% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of 7.8% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Ingredion is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Kerry Group PLC (KRYAY) is another Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 14%.

The consensus estimate for Kerry Group PLC's current year EPS has increased 1.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Ingredion belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 45 individual stocks and currently sits at #98 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 2.4% this year, meaning that INGR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns. Kerry Group PLC is also part of the same industry.

Ingredion and Kerry Group PLC could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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Ingredion Incorporated (INGR) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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