Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Coca-Cola (KO) 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 Coca-Cola (KO) one of those stocks right now? 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.
Coca-Cola is one of 185 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #16 within 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 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. Coca-Cola is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for KO's full-year earnings has moved 0.9% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.
Based on the most recent data, KO has returned 24.3% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 9.4%. This means that Coca-Cola is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Luckin Coffee Inc. Sponsored ADR (LKNCY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 10.7%.
For Luckin Coffee Inc. Sponsored ADR, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 2.5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Breaking things down more, Coca-Cola is a member of the Beverages - Soft drinks industry, which includes 20 individual companies and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 14.4% so far this year, so KO is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns. Luckin Coffee Inc. Sponsored ADR is also part of the same industry.
Coca-Cola and Luckin Coffee Inc. Sponsored ADR 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).
