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. Has Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) been one of those stocks this year? 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 194 companies in the Consumer Staples group. The Consumer Staples group currently sits at #12 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 proven system that emphasizes earnings estimates and estimate revisions, highlighting a variety of stocks that are displaying the right characteristics to beat the market over the next one to three months. Archer Daniels Midland is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for ADM's full-year earnings has moved 22.9% higher within the past quarter. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the most recent data, ADM has returned 16.9% so far this year. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have lost an average of 4.7%. This means that Archer Daniels Midland is outperforming the sector as a whole this year.

Sanderson Farms (SAFM) is another Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 8%.

Over the past three months, Sanderson Farms' consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 52%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

Looking more specifically, Archer Daniels Midland belongs to the Agriculture - Operations industry, a group that includes 13 individual stocks and currently sits at #74 in the Zacks Industry Rank. This group has gained an average of 11.9% so far this year, so ADM is performing better in this area.

In contrast, Sanderson Farms falls under the Food - Meat Products industry. Currently, this industry has 6 stocks and is ranked #21. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -7.7%.

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

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