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Is BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ) 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. BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ - 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.

BJ's Wholesale Club is one of 186 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 groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. BJ's Wholesale Club is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BJ's full-year earnings has moved 3.9% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, BJ has moved about 21.5% on a year-to-date basis. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have gained about 16.4% on average. This means that BJ's Wholesale Club is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, e.l.f. Beauty (ELF - Free Report) , has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 52.7%.

Over the past three months, e.l.f. Beauty's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 7.4%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, BJ's Wholesale Club is a member of the Consumer Products - Staples industry, which includes 34 individual companies and currently sits at #170 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 31.2% so far this year, meaning that BJ is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, e.l.f. Beauty belongs to the Cosmetics industry. This 7-stock industry is currently ranked #42. The industry has moved +11.2% year to date.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on BJ's Wholesale Club and e.l.f. Beauty as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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