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Is Clorox (CLX) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers 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 Clorox (CLX - 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.

Clorox is one of 193 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #11 within 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 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. Clorox is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CLX's full-year earnings has moved 8.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, CLX has returned 0.5% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of -4.5% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Clorox is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMBBY - Free Report) . The stock has returned 4.5% year-to-date.

In Imperial Tobacco Group PLC's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 0.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Clorox belongs to the Soap and Cleaning Materials industry, a group that includes 7 individual companies and currently sits at #107 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 3% so far this year, meaning that CLX is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Imperial Tobacco Group PLC belongs to the Tobacco industry. This 7-stock industry is currently ranked #48. The industry has moved -3.8% year to date.

Clorox and Imperial Tobacco Group PLC 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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