Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Hershey (HSY Quick QuoteHSY - Free Report) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Hershey is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 177 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #10. 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. HSY is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for HSY's full-year earnings has moved 0.46% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, HSY has returned 1.22% so far this year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of -14.37%. This means that Hershey is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

To break things down more, HSY belongs to the Food - Confectionery industry, a group that includes 3 individual companies and currently sits at #39 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have lost about 2.65% so far this year, so HSY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to HSY as it looks to continue its solid performance.