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Is Pilgrim's Pride (PPC) Outperforming Other Consumer Staples Stocks This Year?

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For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Pilgrim's Pride (PPC - 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.

Pilgrim's Pride is one of 194 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #13 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 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. Pilgrim's Pride is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for PPC's full-year earnings has moved 19.6% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, PPC has returned 21.4% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 3.1%. This shows that Pilgrim's Pride is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Utz Brands (UTZ - Free Report) . The stock has returned 13.7% year-to-date.

In Utz Brands' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 12.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Pilgrim's Pride belongs to the Food - Meat Products industry, a group that includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #7 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 9.5% so far this year, so PPC is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Utz Brands, however, belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry. Currently, this 45-stock industry is ranked #80. The industry has moved +4.7% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Pilgrim's Pride and Utz Brands as they could maintain their solid performance.


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