Is Associated British Foods (ASBFY) Outperforming Other Consumer Staples Stocks This Year?
The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. 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 a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 184 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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 system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Associated British Foods PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASBFY's full-year earnings has moved 1.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Based on the latest available data, ASBFY has gained about 8.5% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 6.9%. As we can see, Associated British Foods PLC is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Edgewell Personal Care (EPC). The stock has returned 8.7% year-to-date.
In Edgewell Personal Care's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 2.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Associated British Foods PLC belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 45 individual companies and currently sits at #80 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 1.8% so far this year, meaning that ASBFY is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Edgewell Personal Care belongs to the Consumer Products - Staples industry. This 27-stock industry is currently ranked #166. The industry has moved +3.6% year to date.
Investors with an interest in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to track Associated British Foods PLC and Edgewell Personal Care. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Associated British Foods PLC (ASBFY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
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