Is Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Outperforming Other Consumer Staples Stocks This Year?

For those looking to find strong Consumer Staples stocks, it is prudent to search for companies in the group that are outperforming their peers. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Archer Daniels Midland 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. Archer Daniels Midland is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Within the past quarter, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for ADM's full-year earnings has moved 17.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Our latest available data shows that ADM has returned about 38.9% since the start of the calendar year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of 10.1% on a year-to-date basis. This shows that Archer Daniels Midland is outperforming its peers so far this year.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is Shiseido Co. (SSDOY). The stock has returned 43.6% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Shiseido Co.'s current year EPS has increased 2.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Archer Daniels Midland is a member of the Agriculture - Operations industry, which includes 11 individual companies and currently sits at #110 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 18.6% so far this year, meaning that ADM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Shiseido Co. belongs to the Cosmetics industry. This 8-stock industry is currently ranked #84. The industry has moved -12.8% year to date.

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

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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