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Is Hershey (HSY) Outperforming Other Consumer Staples Stocks This Year?

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Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Hershey (HSY - Free Report) one of those stocks right now? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Hershey is one of 198 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #8 within 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 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. Hershey is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for HSY's full-year earnings has moved 1.5% higher within the past quarter. This shows that analyst sentiment has improved and the company's earnings outlook is stronger.

Based on the most recent data, HSY has returned 12.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Consumer Staples sector has returned an average of 1.1% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Hershey is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Sysco (SYY - Free Report) . The stock is up 11.9% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Sysco's current year EPS has increased 4.6% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Breaking things down more, Hershey is a member of the Food - Confectionery industry, which includes 3 individual companies and currently sits at #16 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 93.1% so far this year, meaning that HSY is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

On the other hand, Sysco belongs to the Food - Miscellaneous industry. This 50-stock industry is currently ranked #79. The industry has moved -0.9% year to date.

Investors with an interest in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to track Hershey and Sysco. These stocks will be looking to continue their solid performance.


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