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Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Imperial Tobacco Group (IMBBY) This Year?

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The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMBBY - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? 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.

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC is one of 198 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #2 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different sector groups. The average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups is measured, and the sectors are listed from best to worst.

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. Imperial Tobacco Group PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for IMBBY's full-year earnings has moved 5.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, IMBBY has moved about 0.6% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have lost an average of 2.3%. This shows that Imperial Tobacco Group PLC is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Inter Parfums (IPAR - Free Report) . The stock has returned 16.1% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Inter Parfums' current year EPS has increased 7.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Imperial Tobacco Group PLC belongs to the Tobacco industry, a group that includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #32 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 7.6% so far this year, so IMBBY is slightly underperforming its industry this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Inter Parfums belongs to the Cosmetics industry. This 14-stock industry is currently ranked #47. The industry has moved -35.9% year to date.

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC and Inter Parfums 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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