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Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Hershey (HSY) 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. Hershey (HSY - 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.

Hershey is one of 197 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #2 in 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 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. Hershey is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HSY's full-year earnings has moved 4.7% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, HSY has gained about 3.9% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have lost an average of 1.2%. This shows that Hershey is outperforming its peers so far this year.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Lamb Weston (LW - Free Report) . The stock is up 12.4% year-to-date.

Over the past three months, Lamb Weston's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 30.1%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Hershey belongs to the Food - Confectionery industry, a group that includes 3 individual stocks and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 4.2% this year, meaning that HSY is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Lamb Weston falls under the Food - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this industry has 50 stocks and is ranked #71. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -1.8%.

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


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