Has Ambev (ABEV) Outpaced Other Consumer Staples Stocks This Year?

The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Has Ambev (ABEV) been one of those stocks this year? 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.

Ambev is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 195 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #13. The Zacks Sector Rank considers 16 different groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. Ambev is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ABEV's full-year earnings has moved 3.6% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.

Based on the most recent data, ABEV has returned 3.6% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have lost about 4.5% on average. This shows that Ambev is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is another Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 29.6%.

Over the past three months, Archer Daniels Midland's consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 10.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

To break things down more, Ambev belongs to the Beverages - Alcohol industry, a group that includes 17 individual companies and currently sits at #107 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, stocks in this group have lost 5.4% this year, meaning that ABEV is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Archer Daniels Midland falls under the Agriculture - Operations industry. Currently, this industry has 14 stocks and is ranked #112. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +22.8%.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Ambev and Archer Daniels Midland as they could maintain their solid performance.

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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.