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Is Associated British Foods (ASBFY) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers 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. Is Associated British Foods PLC (ASBFY - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Consumer Staples sector should help us answer this question.

Associated British Foods PLC is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 180 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #16. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

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. Associated British Foods PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASBFY's full-year earnings has moved 1.1% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, ASBFY has gained about 5.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of 3.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Associated British Foods PLC is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Celsius Holdings Inc. (CELH - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 119.5%.

The consensus estimate for Celsius Holdings Inc.'s current year EPS has increased 33.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Associated British Foods PLC is a member of the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 42 individual companies and currently sits at #163 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 6.8% so far this year, so ASBFY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Celsius Holdings Inc. is also part of the same industry.

Associated British Foods PLC and Celsius Holdings Inc. 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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