Yahoo Finance Is Associated British Foods (ASBFY) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?
The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Is Associated British Foods PLC (ASBFY) 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.
Associated British Foods PLC is a member of our Consumer Staples group, which includes 192 different companies and currently sits at #10 in 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 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. Associated British Foods PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ASBFY's full-year earnings has moved 8.4% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, ASBFY has returned 18.2% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have lost about 1.5% on average. This means that Associated British Foods PLC is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Coca-Cola European (CCEP). The stock is up 13.7% year-to-date.
The consensus estimate for Coca-Cola European's current year EPS has increased 2.1% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Looking more specifically, Associated British Foods PLC belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 49 individual stocks and currently sits at #41 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 1.6% so far this year, so ASBFY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
Coca-Cola European, however, belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry. Currently, this 16-stock industry is ranked #31. The industry has moved +5.1% so far this year.
Associated British Foods PLC and Coca-Cola European could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Associated British Foods PLC (ASBFY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) : Free Stock Analysis Report
