Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Altria (MO) 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.
Altria is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 184 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #16. 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 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. Altria is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MO's full-year earnings has moved 1.2% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.
Our latest available data shows that MO has returned about 25.1% since the start of the calendar year. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 0.1%. As we can see, Altria is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Ollie's Bargain Outlet (OLLI). The stock has returned 17.6% year-to-date.
For Ollie's Bargain Outlet, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Altria belongs to the Tobacco industry, a group that includes 8 individual stocks and currently sits at #164 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 33.8% so far this year, meaning that MO is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Ollie's Bargain Outlet falls under the Consumer Products - Staples industry. Currently, this industry has 36 stocks and is ranked #190. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -10.4%.
Investors with an interest in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to track Altria and Ollie's Bargain Outlet. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.
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Altria Group, Inc. (MO): Free Stock Analysis Report Ollie's Bargain Outlet Holdings, Inc. (OLLI): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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