For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Is Altria (MO) 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.
Altria 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 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 successful stock-picking model that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions. The system highlights a number of different stocks that could be poised to outperform the broader market over the next one to three months. Altria is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).
Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MO's full-year earnings has moved 1.5% higher. This is a sign of improving analyst sentiment and a positive earnings outlook trend.
Based on the most recent data, MO has returned 25.2% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 9.4%. This means that Altria is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.
Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Newell Brands (NWL), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 44.9%.
Over the past three months, Newell Brands' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 1.9%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
To break things down more, Altria belongs to the Tobacco industry, a group that includes 8 individual companies and currently sits at #215 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 18.4% so far this year, so MO is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.
On the other hand, Newell Brands belongs to the Consumer Products - Staples industry. This 35-stock industry is currently ranked #190. The industry has moved +3.5% year to date.
Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Altria and Newell Brands as they could maintain their solid performance.
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Altria Group, Inc. (MO): Free Stock Analysis Report
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).