Are Consumer Staples Stocks Lagging Bunzl (BZLFY) This Year?

Investors interested in Consumer Staples stocks should always be looking to find the best-performing companies in the group. Is Bunzl PLC (BZLFY) one of those stocks right now? A quick glance at the company's year-to-date performance in comparison to the rest of the Consumer Staples sector should help us answer this question.

Bunzl PLC 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 groups, measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the sector to gauge the strength of each group.

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. Bunzl PLC is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for BZLFY's full-year earnings has moved 2.5% higher. This means that analyst sentiment is stronger and the stock's earnings outlook is improving.

Based on the latest available data, BZLFY has gained about 35.1% so far this year. Meanwhile, stocks in the Consumer Staples group have gained about 11% on average. This means that Bunzl PLC is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Ryohin Keikaku Co. Ltd. (RYKKY) is another Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 53.9%.

The consensus estimate for Ryohin Keikaku Co. Ltd.'s current year EPS has increased 9.3% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Breaking things down more, Bunzl PLC is a member of the Food - Miscellaneous industry, which includes 45 individual companies and currently sits at #194 in the Zacks Industry Rank. Stocks in this group have gained about 6.5% so far this year, so BZLFY is performing better this group in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Ryohin Keikaku Co. Ltd. falls under the Consumer Products - Staples industry. Currently, this industry has 35 stocks and is ranked #185. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved +2.9%.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on Bunzl PLC and Ryohin Keikaku Co. Ltd. as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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

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