The Consumer Staples group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Coca-Cola European (CCEP) 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.

Coca-Cola European is a member of the Consumer Staples sector. This group includes 177 individual stocks and currently holds a Zacks Sector Rank of #12. 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. Coca-Cola European is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CCEP's full-year earnings has moved 0.5% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

According to our latest data, CCEP has moved about 10.7% on a year-to-date basis. At the same time, Consumer Staples stocks have gained an average of 4.5%. As we can see, Coca-Cola European is performing better than its sector in the calendar year.

One other Consumer Staples stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year is Pilgrim's Pride (PPC). The stock is up 13.5% year-to-date.

The consensus estimate for Pilgrim's Pride's current year EPS has increased 11.4% over the past three months. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

Looking more specifically, Coca-Cola European belongs to the Beverages - Soft drinks industry, a group that includes 16 individual stocks and currently sits at #68 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 8.9% so far this year, meaning that CCEP is performing better in terms of year-to-date returns.

In contrast, Pilgrim's Pride falls under the Food - Meat Products industry. Currently, this industry has 5 stocks and is ranked #48. Since the beginning of the year, the industry has moved -10.3%.

Investors interested in the Consumer Staples sector may want to keep a close eye on Coca-Cola European and Pilgrim's Pride as they attempt to continue their solid performance.

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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP) : Free Stock Analysis Report

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

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