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Is Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?

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Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Archer Daniels Midland (ADM - 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.

Archer Daniels Midland is one of 185 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #16 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 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. Archer Daniels Midland is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ADM's full-year earnings has moved 23.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, ADM has gained about 42.1% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 10.5%. This shows that Archer Daniels Midland is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Coca-Cola (KO - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 29.5%.

In Coca-Cola's case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Archer Daniels Midland belongs to the Agriculture - Operations industry, a group that includes 11 individual stocks and currently sits at #164 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 20.5% so far this year, meaning that ADM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Coca-Cola belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry. This 20-stock industry is currently ranked #107. The industry has moved +17.8% year to date.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on Archer Daniels Midland and Coca-Cola as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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