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Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Fomento Economico Mexicano (FMX) 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. Fomento Economico (FMX - 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.

Fomento Economico is a member of our Consumer Staples group, which includes 173 different companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

The Zacks Rank is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Fomento Economico is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for FMX's full-year earnings has moved 26.7% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Our latest available data shows that FMX has returned about 25.5% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have gained about 8.5% on average. This means that Fomento Economico 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 Helen of Troy (HELE - Free Report) . The stock has returned 34.6% year-to-date.

For Helen of Troy, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Fomento Economico belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry, which includes 18 individual stocks and currently sits at #65 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 12.5% so far this year, so FMX is performing better in this area.

Helen of Troy, however, belongs to the Cosmetics industry. Currently, this 8-stock industry is ranked #107. The industry has moved -16.4% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Fomento Economico and Helen of Troy as they could maintain their solid performance.

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