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Is The Chef's Warehouse (CHEF) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers 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. Chefs' Warehouse (CHEF - 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? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Chefs' Warehouse is one of 187 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #14 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 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. Chefs' Warehouse is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CHEF's full-year earnings has moved 8.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the most recent data, CHEF has returned 72.3% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 10.9%. This means that Chefs' Warehouse is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Helen of Troy (HELE - Free Report) . The stock is up 37.9% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Helen of Troy's current year EPS has increased 4.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Chefs' Warehouse belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 47 individual stocks and currently sits at #213 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 1.7% so far this year, so CHEF is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Helen of Troy falls under the Cosmetics industry. Currently, this industry has 7 stocks and is ranked #41. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +8.9%.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on Chefs' Warehouse and Helen of Troy as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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