Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Nestle SA (NSRGY) been one of those stocks this year? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Staples peers, we might be able to answer that question.
Nestle SA is one of 178 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #15 within the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.
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. Nestle SA is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for NSRGY's full-year earnings has moved 5.6% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
Based on the latest available data, NSRGY has gained about 21.7% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of 5.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Nestle SA is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.
Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Philip Morris (PM), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 52.3%.
The consensus estimate for Philip Morris' current year EPS has increased 4.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Nestle SA belongs to the Consumer Products - Staples industry, a group that includes 38 individual companies and currently sits at #180 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has lost an average of 3% so far this year, so NSRGY is performing better in this area.
Philip Morris, however, belongs to the Tobacco industry. Currently, this 6-stock industry is ranked #44. The industry has moved +40.4% so far this year.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Nestle SA and Philip Morris as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Nestle SA (NSRGY): Free Stock Analysis Report Philip Morris International Inc. (PM): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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