For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has Associated British Foods PLC (ASBFY) been one of those stocks this year? 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 192 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #4. 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. Associated British Foods PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASBFY's full-year earnings has moved 7.2% higher within the past quarter. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that ASBFY has returned about 7.9% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 2.8%. This means that Associated British Foods PLC is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Greencore Group (GNCGY). The stock has returned 79.3% year-to-date.

In Greencore Group's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 12.5% 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 #59 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 0.2% so far this year, so ASBFY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Greencore Group is also part of the same industry.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Associated British Foods PLC and Greencore Group as they could maintain their solid performance.

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