For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Has New York Times Co. (NYT) been one of those stocks this year? 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 179 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #11 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 is a successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader 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 means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, NYT has returned 4.9% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have gained about 4.9% on average.
Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is WD-40 (WDFC). The stock has returned 11.4% year-to-date.
Over the past three months, WD-40's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 0.7%. 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 #5 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 35.8% this year, meaning that NYT is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, WD-40 belongs to the Consumer Products - Staples industry. This 35-stock industry is currently ranked #174. The industry has moved -11% year to date.
Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on New York Times Co. and WD-40 as they attempt to continue their solid performance.
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The New York Times Company (NYT): Free Stock Analysis Report WD-40 Company (WDFC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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