The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Pepsico (PEP Quick QuotePEP - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Pepsico is one of 166 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #13 within the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 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. PEP is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for PEP's full-year earnings has moved 0.25% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the latest available data, PEP has gained about 17.91% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 16.49%. This means that Pepsico is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Breaking things down more, PEP is a member of the Beverages - Soft drinks industry, which includes 18 individual companies and currently sits at #173 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 12.03% this year, meaning that PEP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

PEP will likely be looking to continue its solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to the company.