Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Mondelez International (MDLZ) This Year?

PEP MDLZ

The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Mondelez (MDLZ - 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? 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.

Mondelez is one of 200 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #1 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Mondelez is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MDLZ's full-year earnings has moved 0.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Our latest available data shows that MDLZ has returned about 1.9% since the start of the calendar year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have lost an average of 1.4%. This means that Mondelez is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is PepsiCo (PEP - Free Report) . The stock is up 5.8% year-to-date.

In PepsiCo's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Mondelez is a member of the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 50 individual companies and currently sits at #55 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 7% so far this year, meaning that MDLZ is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, PepsiCo belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry. This 17-stock industry is currently ranked #48. The industry has moved +8.1% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to track Mondelez and PepsiCo. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.

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