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Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Lamb Weston (LW) This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Lamb Weston (LW - Free Report) 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Staples peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Lamb Weston is one of 198 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #3 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Lamb Weston is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for LW's full-year earnings has moved 30.3% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, LW has returned 9.9% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of -1.8%. This means that Lamb Weston is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Mondelez (MDLZ - Free Report) is another Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 0.6%.

The consensus estimate for Mondelez's current year EPS has increased 1.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Lamb Weston belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 50 individual companies and currently sits at #50 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 6.6% so far this year, so LW is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Mondelez is also part of the same industry.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on Lamb Weston and Mondelez as they attempt to continue their solid performance.


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