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Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) This Year?

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Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Archer Daniels Midland (ADM - Free Report) 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.

Archer Daniels Midland is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 200 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #3. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. Archer Daniels Midland is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ADM's full-year earnings has moved 9.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that ADM has returned about 38.3% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have lost an average of 2.4%. This means that Archer Daniels Midland is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Conagra Brands (CAG - Free Report) . The stock has returned 13.5% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Conagra Brands' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.8%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Archer Daniels Midland belongs to the Agriculture - Operations industry, a group that includes 14 individual companies and currently sits at #40 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 24.7% so far this year, so ADM is performing better in this area.

Conagra Brands, however, belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 50-stock industry is ranked #52. The industry has moved +4.7% so far this year.

Archer Daniels Midland and Conagra Brands 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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