Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Altria Group (MO) This Year?

Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Altria (MO) 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.Altria is a member of our Consumer Staples group, which includes 172 different companies and currently sits at #14 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.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).Over the past three months, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for MO's full-year earnings has moved 1.3% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.Based on the most recent data, MO has returned 27.3% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have gained about 4.7% on average. As we can see, Altria is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.Another stock in the Consumer Staples sector, Smithfield Foods, Inc. (SFD), has outperformed the sector so far this year. The stock's year-to-date return is 19.2%.In Smithfield Foods, Inc.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 10.9% over the past three months. 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 #217 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 5.3% so far this year, so MO is performing better in this area. In contrast, Smithfield Foods, Inc. falls under the Food - Meat Products industry. Currently, this industry has 5 stocks and is ranked #229. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +2.7%.Altria and Smithfield Foods, Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.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 UpThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).Zacks Investment ResearchWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Zacks