Is Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) Stock Outpacing Its Consumer Staples Peers This Year?

Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. 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? By taking a look at the stock's year-to-date performance in comparison to its Consumer Staples peers, we might be able to answer that question.

Archer Daniels Midland is one of 171 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #15 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. 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 12% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, ADM has moved about 40.4% on a year-to-date basis. In comparison, Consumer Staples companies have returned an average of 7.2%. This means that Archer Daniels Midland is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Another Consumer Staples stock, which has outperformed the sector so far this year, is ARKO Corp. (ARKO). The stock has returned 49.3% year-to-date.

In ARKO Corp.'s case, the consensus EPS estimate for the current year increased 116.7% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong 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 #189 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 23.8% so far this year, meaning that ADM is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

ARKO Corp., however, belongs to the Consumer Products - Staples industry. Currently, this 34-stock industry is ranked #172. The industry has moved -1.7% so far this year.

Going forward, investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should continue to pay close attention to Archer Daniels Midland and ARKO Corp. 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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