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Is Coca-Cola (KO) 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. Coca-Cola (KO - 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? 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.

Coca-Cola is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 173 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. 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 is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Coca-Cola is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for KO's full-year earnings has moved 0.9% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

According to our latest data, KO has moved about 12.2% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of 4.9% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Coca-Cola is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Shiseido Co. (SSDOY - Free Report) . The stock has returned 12.4% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Shiseido Co.'s current year EPS has increased 23.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Coca-Cola belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry, which includes 18 individual stocks and currently sits at #95 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 9.7% so far this year, meaning that KO is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Shiseido Co. falls under the Cosmetics industry. Currently, this industry has 8 stocks and is ranked #46. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -21.7%.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Coca-Cola and Shiseido Co. as they could maintain their solid performance.

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