Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Smithfield Foods, Inc. (SFD) This Year?

Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Has Smithfield Foods, Inc. (SFD) 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.Smithfield Foods, Inc. is one of 179 individual stocks in the Consumer Staples sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #15 in the Zacks Sector Rank. 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. Smithfield Foods, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).The Zacks Consensus Estimate for SFD's full-year earnings has moved 11.8% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.Based on the latest available data, SFD has gained about 21.3% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 2.7%. This shows that Smithfield Foods, Inc. is outperforming its peers so far this year.Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, John Wiley & Sons (WLY), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 23.9%.In John Wiley & Sons' case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 5% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).Looking more specifically, Smithfield Foods, Inc. belongs to the Food - Meat Products industry, a group that includes 5 individual stocks and currently sits at #64 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 5.4% so far this year, so SFD is performing better in this area. John Wiley & Sons, however, belongs to the Publishing - Books industry. Currently, this 2-stock industry is ranked #3. The industry has moved +25.4% so far this year.Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Smithfield Foods, Inc. and John Wiley & Sons as they could maintain their solid performance.Zacks' Research Chief Names "Stock Most Likely to Double"Our team of experts has just released the 5 stocks with the greatest probability of gaining +100% or more in the coming months. Of those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian highlights the one stock set to climb highest.This top pick is a little-known satellite-based communications firm. Space is projected to become a trillion dollar industry, and this company's customer base is growing fast. Analysts have forecasted a major revenue breakout in 2025. Of course, all our elite picks aren't winners but this one could far surpass earlier Zacks' Stocks Set to Double like Hims & Hers Health, which shot up +209%.Free: See Our Top Stock And 4 Runners UpWant 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 Smithfield Foods, Inc. (SFD): Free Stock Analysis Report John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (WLY): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks