For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Smucker (SJM) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? 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.
Smucker is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 185 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #16. The Zacks Sector Rank gauges the strength of our 16 individual sector groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups.
The Zacks Rank emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions to find stocks with improving earnings outlooks. This system has a long record of success, and these stocks tend to be on track to beat the market over the next one to three months. Smucker is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for SJM's full-year earnings has moved 2.4% higher. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.
According to our latest data, SJM has moved about 21.9% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 10.2%. As we can see, Smucker is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.
Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, WD-40 (WDFC), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 19.3%.
The consensus estimate for WD-40's current year EPS has increased 4.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Smucker belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, a group that includes 45 individual stocks and currently sits at #209 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have gained 2.7% this year, meaning that SJM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.
In contrast, WD-40 falls under the Consumer Products - Staples industry. Currently, this industry has 35 stocks and is ranked #202. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +4.7%.
Smucker and WD-40 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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