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Is Ingredion (INGR) 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. Ingredion (INGR - 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.

Ingredion is one of 193 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #12 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. Ingredion is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for INGR's full-year earnings has moved 0.2% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, INGR has returned 1.3% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of -6.2%. This shows that Ingredion is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Alico (ALCO - Free Report) is another Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 2.1%.

For Alico, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 9.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Ingredion belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 45 individual companies and currently sits at #176 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 7.3% this year, meaning that INGR is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

Alico, however, belongs to the Agriculture - Operations industry. Currently, this 16-stock industry is ranked #111. The industry has moved -31.5% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Ingredion and Alico as they could maintain their solid performance.


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