Has Compania Cervecerias Unidas (CCU) Outpaced Other Consumer Staples Stocks This Year?

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 Cervecerias Unidas (CCU) been one of those stocks this year? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Cervecerias Unidas is one of 178 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #13 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 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. Cervecerias Unidas is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CCU's full-year earnings has moved 10.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the latest available data, CCU has gained about 25.2% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 5%. This means that Cervecerias Unidas is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Monster Beverage (MNST), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 18.6%.

For Monster Beverage, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.2% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Cervecerias Unidas belongs to the Beverages - Alcohol industry, which includes 17 individual stocks and currently sits at #84 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 9.4% so far this year, so CCU is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Monster Beverage falls under the Beverages - Soft drinks industry. Currently, this industry has 16 stocks and is ranked #28. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +6.4%.

Cervecerias Unidas and Monster Beverage could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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