The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is New York Times Co. (NYT) 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.
New York Times Co. is one of 180 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #15 in 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 is a proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. New York Times Co. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NYT's full-year earnings has moved 5.2% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the most recent data, NYT has returned 2.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have lost about 1% on average. This means that New York Times Co. 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 Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (RBGLY). The stock is up 2.3% year-to-date.
For Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, New York Times Co. is a member of the Publishing - Newspapers industry, which includes 1 individual companies and currently sits at #7 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 33.1% this year, meaning that NYT is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC falls under the Soap and Cleaning Materials industry. Currently, this industry has 1 stocks and is ranked #7.
Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on New York Times Co. and Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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The New York Times Company (NYT): Free Stock Analysis Report Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (RBGLY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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