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Is McCormick & Company (MKC) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers 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. McCormick (MKC - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

McCormick is one of 194 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #5 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 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. McCormick is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MKC's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, MKC has returned 8.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of -0.9% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that McCormick is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Monster Beverage (MNST - Free Report) . The stock has returned 13.3% year-to-date.

For Monster Beverage, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 3.8% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, McCormick belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 49 individual stocks and currently sits at #39 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 1.5% so far this year, so MKC is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Monster Beverage, however, belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry. Currently, this 16-stock industry is ranked #27. The industry has moved +5.9% so far this year.

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


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